How Things Change
by Midnight-The Angel of Darkness
Summary: It was a secret only a handful knew. A secret that, when revealed, would change everything people knew to be true. What was the secret? Uzumaki Kushina was never the Jinchūriki for the Kyūbi…no, that burden belonged to her sister: Uzumaki Seiko, deceased medical ninja, and mother. And because of certain events, that burden now belonged to her daughter. Naruto x Hinata.
1. Prologue: The Beginning

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Naruto_, Masashi Kishimoto does. If I did own it, do you really think I'd have any reason to be writing fanfiction for it?

**Pairings: **This will be Naruto x Hinata, but it will be a while before they become a couple. The romance might not even happen until part two. I don't want to rush things. There will also be some minor pairings too (like Minato x Kushina, and others that I like).

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><p>.<p>

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><p><em>Flashback<br>_  
>"Speech"<br>_  
><em>"YELLING"  
><em><br>_"S-someone st-st-stuttering"  
><em><br>_"B…broken up s…speech as if s…someone is in a l…lot of p…pain or t…talking w…while c…coughing or t…talking w…while l…laughing or w…whatever"

"Someone-talking-so-fast-that-no-one-can-understan d-them"

'_Thoughts'_

**"Hinata ****talking ****when ****harnessing ****the ****Fox's ****power"**_**  
><strong>__  
><em>_**"The **__**Kyūbi **__**talking **__**to **__**Hinata/Sakura's **__**inner self"**_

_'__**The Kyūbi thinking without Hinata hearing'**_

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><p><em><strong>How Things Change:<strong>__**  
>Prologue~ The Beginning<strong>_

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><p>In the very early morning of a cool winter's day, a young woman with hair the color of blood went into labor early. This woman's name was Uzumaki Seiko, and she came from The Land of Whirlpools, originating from one of the country's most prominent clans. This clan didn't have what you would call a special bloodline limit; rather they just excelled in the arts of sealing and had the unique ability to outlive most normal people. She came from the Uzumaki Clan and, unbeknownst to almost everyone, possessed the demon of the nine tailed fox within her body.<p>

Everyone in the village, besides a select few, believed the host of the fox was a woman by the name of Uzumaki Kushina, but that was a lie. Kushina's younger sister (though not really related by blood), Seiko, was in fact the host, because her chakra was deemed superior to Kushina's at an early age. However, because her elder sister wanted to protect her from the ridicule and hate she'd receive from being the Jinchūriki, told everyone she was in fact the demon's container. Seiko's sister grew up being shunned, but Kushina realized long ago it was better it be her, than her precious baby sister.

The select few who knew the truth and helped the two sisters hide the truth were the Third and Fourth Hokage, and Tsunade and Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin.

Seiko had entered the academy the same year as Kushina despite being four years younger because they wanted her body strong before the sealing, and there she met Hyūga Hiashi. He was arrogant, and always looked down on others. However, that never mattered to Seiko. For some reason she was drawn to him, and no matter how much he called her weak, she couldn't stop herself from wanting to be his friend.

After her days in the academy, Seiko was placed on a team with Hiashi, and they grew closer and closer (though, at the time, Hiashi would deny it), and little by little, they fell in love. They wanted to marry and have a family together.

However, the Hyūga clan did not agree with their courtship. Seiko wasn't part of the clan, and her abilities didn't stand out. She was ordinary, and the clan _hated_ ordinary. Even though she was a skilled medic, taken on as an apprentice by Tsunade herself, didn't change their view of her.

Healing didn't make you strong, in their opinion.

Healing was for the weak.

The elders of the clan found her troublesome, weak, and much too soft to ever marry the clan head.

Seiko knew what was happening within the clan; she knew how the elders looked at her, and she knew she was just making trouble for Hiashi. So after two years of being engaged, Seiko broke it off, not wanting to cause any more trouble for the man she loved. He was constantly fighting day in and day out with his family, and she didn't want to be the cause of his suffering any longer.

Hiashi had been distraught, and felt betrayed when it happened, and wasn't in the right mind to stop what happened next. Not long afterwards, the elders had pushed him into marrying a woman in the clan, a woman that would be a much better match, in their opinions.

From the shadows, Seiko watched Hiashi hoping he lived a happy life and that he would grow to love his wife like no other.

It was only a few weeks later that she found out something surprising, though.

She was pregnant with Hiashi's child.

Seiko knew that it would only be right to tell Hiashi, but she could not bring herself to. She thought he was happy as he was. She also didn't know what would happen to her child if the elders of the clan ever found out about it. She refused to risk her baby's safety, so she chose to keep her pregnancy a secret, chose to keep it from the man she loved.

She would die before she ever let him know.

Kushina did not like the decision Seiko made as she knew how much Hiashi loved her, but in the end she accepted it; she could not say no to Seiko.

Because no one knew she was a Jinchūriki, her pregnancy was kept a secret from the rest of the village. Her stomach was sealed so as to not alert anyone.

In order to help keep the truth a secret and to help keep the village safe from the demon (for the seal was at its weakest when a woman was in labor), Tsunade and her young assistant Shizune were to deliver the baby in a secluded area outside of the village, while Kushina, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, kept watch. Minato, the Fourth Hokage, was to stay with Tsunade and make sure the seal that kept the demon within Seiko's body held as it should.

Those people were the only ones who knew she was pregnant with Hiashi's child, and that she was a Jinchūriki.

"Seiko-chan, you must push now," Tsunade gently whispered to her patient and student.

She had taken Seiko on as her apprentice many years ago, and it was because of her and Shizune that she never left the village after her brother's and lover's deaths. Had they not been around, she would have been gone long ago.

"I'm t…trying T…Tsunade-sensei b…but it h…hur—AHHH!" Seiko screamed out.

"I know it hurts, Seiko-chan, but the longer you keep that baby within you, the longer you'll suffer!" Tsunade exclaimed as she saw the right contraction show up on the monitor Seiko was connected to. "You need to push. Now!"

Seiko's back arched off of the table she was on slightly as she pushed as hard as she could. Seeing this, Tsunade slowly counted to ten.

When she reached ten, she whispered, "You're doing fine, Seiko-chan, you can breathe now. You've gotten the head out. At the next big contraction you'll have to give me one more big push and the baby should be out."

_'And hopefully that's all…' _Tsunade finished in her head.

She didn't want to think about what would happen if the seal didn't hold.

Seiko nodded her head as tears filled her eyes. She inhaled a big breath and slowly let it out.

Tsunade looked to the monitor once more and again she saw the contraction she needed start up.

Turning her head back towards her student, she said, "Alright, one has just started. One more time, Seiko-chan, you can do this! I know you can!"

Seiko held her breath as best as she could and pushed. It hurt, but she was happy to feel that once the head was out the rest was much easier.

Tsunade smiled, the baby was finally out. Minato wasted no time in checking on the seal. As he was doing that, Tsunade did a quick check up on the baby.

_'Whisker birthmarks...?' _

Tsunade shook the thought from her head as she cut the umbilical cord.

"Congratulations, Seiko-chan, you're now the mother of a baby girl!"

Seiko was very worn out, and her body felt weak, Tsunade could see, but even so, Seiko smiled at the sight of her newly born baby. She was sad that she would have to raise her without her ever knowing her father, but she was also happy that she was given this gift. She had been given one final present from Hiashi and it was one of the best gifts she could have ever asked for.

"C…check my b…baby girl o…over," she whispered.

Tsunade nodded, slightly worried about her student.

She seemed too worn out.

"Shizune-chan!" she called out.

A young woman with hair the color of a raven walked towards her.

"Yes, M'lady?"

"I need you to clean up Seiko-chan while I clean and look her baby over." Tsunade stated.

Normally she'd have Shizune look the baby over while she took care of the mother, but Tsunade knew this is what Seiko would have preferred. If Shizune ever made a mistake while tending to her child, Tsunade knew that Seiko would never forgive her.

"Alright." Shizune said, as she got to work.

"What do you plan on naming her, Seiko-chan?" Tsunade asked before she got started on her own work.

Seiko thought for a moment then said, "Hinata. Her n…name will be Uzumaki Hinata."

She was going to be named after her late mother.

Tsunade smiled and nodded, and as soon as she saw Shizune working on Seiko, turned and placed Hinata on the table near her to do an in-depth checkup. As she placed her hand above the baby warm, green chakra surrounded her hand. Tsunade was very happy to see that the baby was completely healthy; she had wondered if the demon's chakra would affect the baby at all, and she was happy to see that it had not.

During the checkup, Tsunade soon realized that Hinata had inherited the Byakugan. Since she wasn't full Hyūga, and since her mother's chakra was more dominant than her father's, they weren't sure if she would inherit the Byakugan or not. They were hoping she wouldn't as it would make keeping her heritage a secret easier.

'_We'll figure it out.'_ Tsunade thought.

After continuing on with the checkup, Tsunade realized that Hinata had also inherited her mother's strong chakra. Even as a child, Tsunade could tell that her chakra coils were really developed, and the more she grew up, the larger her reserves would get.

_'I wonder…will she inherit her mother's excellent chakra control?'_

Tsunade was just about to finish vaccinating the child when she heard Shizune yell, "Tsunade-sensei, something is wrong and I do not know what to do!"

Tsunade turned around and ordered, "Shizune, finish vaccinating the baby!"

She then went over to Seiko's side; her breathing was irregular, as was her heartbeat and pulse. She was also very pale.

She noticed that Minato looked afraid, and a terrible feeling settled in her gut.

"I don't think she's going to make it, Tsunade, and I have a feeling the fox is going to try to escape when she nears death! I could try to keep the demon back, but I doubt I could. I don't have the same chakra as Seiko or Kushina. I think the only thing I could do is reseal the demon." Minato said, worried.

Tsunade frowned and ignored him as she tried to help her student. The fox was trying to weaken her in her already weakened state. Tsunade had no doubt that Seiko would survive if not for that damned fox. As a medical ninja, Tsunade knew she wasn't going to make it, but some part of her couldn't help but hold onto the hope that she would. Even though she knew she probably wouldn't last more than a few minutes, she tried to stabilize her.

"It's okay Seiko-chan, everything will be just fine," she said even though she knew it wouldn't be. "I'll save you."

She stated as she focused her healing chakra to her hand.

Seiko shook her head. "No Tsunade-sensei, n…not even you c…can save me. I knew h…having a baby w…would be d…dangerous to my health. Even though m…my chakra was strong, I k…knew my body was weak. Y…you cannot waste y…your chakra w…when the demon I p…possess may escape."

"Yes I can!" Tsunade yelled as she put her now glowing hands over Seiko.

"N…no, you can't, a…and I would never forgive you if you w…wasted your chakra on m…me and ended up killing another b…because of it." Seiko murmured. "Please, listen to a d…dying woman's wish and get out of h…here. I c…cannot hold it b…back much longer."

The chakra in Tsunade's hand began to dissipate and she could feel tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She wouldn't let them fall; she had to be strong for Seiko. She could cry later.

Seiko smiled weakly at her teacher.

"I w…want to see my Hinata-chan one l…last time."

Tsunade nodded, still trying to keep her eyes dry, and turned to Shizune who had wrapped Hinata up into a blanket. She was fast asleep. Tsunade was sad to see that Shizune crying.

She then picked the baby up and turned to place her into her mother's arms.

Seiko looked down to her baby and the tears she managed to hold back fell freely.

"I am s…sorry that you will have a h…hard life, my Hinata-chan, but this is the o…only way. I love you."

Tsunade watched in amazement as Seiko focused her chakra; brilliant, golden chains encircled Hinata, embracing her, before being absorbed inside of her small frame. Hinata emitted a golden hue for a moment, before it too disappeared. When the glow caused from Seiko's chakra dissipated, a small seal had been left in the chakra's wake, right above Hinata's bellybutton.

Seiko, looking much frailer, turned to Tsunade.

"The fox is going to have to s…sealed inside of h…her. Only an Uzumaki c…can contain the Kyūbi and Kushina is much too old now to d…do it. She'd never survive." Seiko said.

It was true that Kushina would more than likely die if she tried to seal the fox inside of herself. There was a reason Seiko had had the demon sealed inside of her at a young age, and it was not only because Uzumaki Mito was close to death. It was because a child was more likely to live through the sealing process as their chakra coils were not yet fully formed. Mito was an exception to that rule as her chakra was far more potent than any other who had been born into the Uzumaki clan.

"I've sealed s…some of my chakra into Hinata to help with the s…sealing…" Seiko trailed off.

She hoped that her chakra would help keep the Kyūbi at bay if Hinata ever decided to try and gain control over the fox.

It would also give Hinata a chance to meet her mother later on in life.

"Tell K…Kushina that I love her."

Tsunade's eyes widened, tears filling her eyes. This was really going to be the end. The one she thought of as a daughter was being taken from her, just as Dan and Nawaki were.

She was about to say something when the Third Hokage appeared.

"A masked man attacked, he was trying to get here. We're not sure why, exactly, but we believe he's after Seiko. Kushina and Jiraiya are holding him back. Has anything unusual happened here?"

Tsunade's tears began to fall. She could not hold them back any longer.

"Seiko is going to die, I cannot save her. The fox is going to try to escape at the last moment and Minato says he can't hold it back. The only option is sealing the fox, and Seiko says it has to be in Hinata."

Hiruzen frowned sadly and he looked to Seiko who was approaching death quickly.

"Are you sure this is what needs to be done?"

Seiko nodded, "Y…yes."

Minato looked to the Third and said, "I'll seal the fox—"

The Third shook his head, and cut Minato off.

"You're not the only one Kushina taught the sealing arts to, Minato. I will not allow you to seal the fox, not when you're so young. You and Kushina have much life ahead of you, and I will not let you ruin it. I will do the sealing; I'm an old man and have lived a long and fulfilling life. Now it's your turn to do the same. Not only that, but the village needs you. You just recently became Hokage; you cannot abandon the people now. The village is in need of a young Hokage, I'm at my limit. My rule was long and prosperous, but now I need to let the village's fate be entrusted to the next generation."

Minato was going to argue, but realized there was some truth in what the Third said. He would be the better candidate to seal the demon.

Minato felt guilty for thinking it, but he didn't want to die because he didn't want to leave Kushina behind. He wanted to have a family with her, and wouldn't be able to if he was dead.

Hiruzen, seeing the guilt in Minato's eyes, said. "Don't feel guilty, Minato. Just promise me that you'll look over Biwako for me when I am gone."

"I promise I will watch over her. I will keep her safe, I promise on my life!" Minato said, meaning every word.

While Minato and Hiruzen were talking, Seiko turned to Tsunade, and smiled.

"Tsunade-sensei, I'm g…glad I was able to l…learn the healing arts from y…you, and I h…hope one day you c…can teach Hinata them. I love you." Seiko closed her eyes in pain, "I c…cannot h…hold it much l…longer! Run!"

Hiruzen looked to Tsunade and Minato, "We need to get out of here now, and once the demon has appeared I'll seal it. First it has to be completely free, though."

Tsunade kissed her student on the head, and whispered, "You are like a daughter to me, Seiko-chan, and I love you too."

She then, like the others, ran away. She was carrying Hinata who was fast asleep in her arms.

When they passed Kushina and Jiraiya, they were all happy to see that they were unharmed. They were both out of chakra, yes, but they both were safe and that was what mattered.

Kushina looked horrified when they approached, and was going to rush back to her sister.

Minato, however, knew this was likely to happen when they approached and was ready to handle it.

Disappearing from sight, he used his speed to appear behind Kushina before she could react.

"I'm sorry, Kushina…" he whispered in her ear, before knocking her unconscious.

Had he been looking into her eyes, he would have seen the betrayal she felt reflected in them before they rolled into the back of her head.

Minato felt guilty for doing what he had, but he knew she would have died if she had gone back. She was weak, and almost out of chakra. She would not have survived, and Seiko would not have wanted that.

'_I hope you will forgive me.'_

Picking her up bridal style, he continued on with the rest of them. They needed to reach the village.

Before they made it, a shrill scream filled the air, and then it became silent once more.

Tears fell down Tsunade's face. _'Seiko….'_

However, it was only silent for a moment.

The next sound she, and everyone else heard, was the roar of a demon.

Even though it wasn't smart, Tsunade turned to look at the demon in the distance. It was evil, she could tell, and she could feel the killing intent radiate off of it in wave. It wanted blood, and it would get it.

While looking back, she also noticed something the others did not.

There was a man next to the fox; the strange and unbelievable part was that he seemed to be controlling it.

Her eyes widened.

'_The masked man!'_

It was going to be a long and bloody night, Tsunade realized.

When they reached the village, Tsunade and the others quickly explained what had happened to Jiraiya, and he did the same.

Jiraiya told them that after Hiruzen disappeared, so did the masked man. He had no idea who the man was, but he couldn't help but feel as if he was familiar somehow.

Tsunade then explained that she saw him near the fox. When she did so, Minato was very quick to begin the evacuation of the civilians, and sent any ninja available to watch the village: Jōnin and ANBU were on the front lines and the village's Chūnin backed them up. Because they were so young and inexperienced, the Genin were to guard the civilians. It was a good thing Tsunade saw what she did and was able to warn the Hokage because only moments later and the village was in chaos.

Much blood was spilled, and many innocent people died, civilians and ninja alike. It was too late to fully evacuate the village, and for years the night would be known for its bloodshed. No one alive would be able to forget it, and for years to come it would be taught in classes to students.

Tsunade and Shizune and the rest of the medical ninja were at work all night taking care of the wounded. There was so much blood and death and injury, that it was a nightmare for all who healed—especially when someone on the team saw their very own husband or wife or child or mother or father or brother or sister. No one could hold in their tears at that much suffering.

Tsunade saved many people, but she also lost just as many, if not more.

Jiraiya was unable to help in the battle as he was nearly drained of chakra and was forced to wait it out; he realized he'd get in the way more than anything if he tried to go to battle. So, instead he helped Tsunade out by holding down the patients who needed holding down, and bandaging up the less serious cases. He couldn't do that many medical related tasks as he was never trained in the healing arts.

The battle was a hard one and the village suffered many casualties. The village would have suffered even more if it weren't for the fact that Minato, and a conscious Kushina (whose special chakra regenerated much faster than Jiraiya's) accompanied the Third Hokage to where the demon was at. Minato used his technique to teleport them and the demon from the village and he was the one who chased the masked man away.

Kushina then had the task of using her chakra to immobilize the demon for as long as it took for Hiruzen to seal it. It was only because of Minato's and Kushina's help that Hiruzen was able to seal half of the fox's chakra into the death god, and the other half into Uzumaki Hinata. Not only that, but they were also the last people to see Sarutobi Hiruzen, otherwise known as the Third Hokage, alive.

Minato used the distraction of the Third Hokage's death to hold a secret meeting with his wife, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. He knew that they wouldn't be able to keep it a secret of what happened and they had to figure out what to do. They had kept it a secret that Seiko was pregnant from everyone, even the village elder's. It was planned that Hinata's birth would be an unexpected surprise, that not even the mother knew about it. It took a very powerful seal to hide her growing belly from everyone. However, that plan died as soon as Seiko did.

Everyone would realize that Kushina was not the host because Kushina was still alive and breathing, while Seiko was not. People would stop looking at Kushina with hatred, and instead tarnish the memory of her baby sister with terrible gossip about how she planned it from the very start just to watch the village suffer (of course they'd know not to do so in front of Kushina in fear of being punished by the Fourth).

However, even though they couldn't keep the fact that Seiko was a Jinchūriki from the villagers, what they still were going to do was hide that Hinata was Seiko's and Hiashi's child. If people knew Hinata was Seiko's daughter, they were more likely to treat her even worse than Kushina was ever treated. It was, in a lot of people's minds, Seiko's fault that the village suffered.

Nobody knew Hinata existed, and no one knew she was a descendant of the Uzumaki clan and the Hyūga clan. If they sealed her Byakugan away then no one ever would (not until they wanted them too, anyway).

It was planned that as soon as Hinata could protect herself from her father's clan (who would probably try to put the cursed seal on her or assassinate her if they ever found out about her existence) then they would unseal her bloodline trait and allow her to take her place in her father's clan. Hiashi deserved to know who his daughter was, but they didn't want him to until she could protect herself. He was a very busy man, and he was unlikely to be able to protect her as well as he would want.

Tsunade wanted to take her from the village with her, and Minato almost agreed, but he realized that Hinata would be safer in the village as he never knew what happened to that masked man. Tsunade couldn't stand the thought of remaining in the village that killed her brother, lover, teacher, and student, so knew she would be gone by morning. She felt like she was abandoning Seiko's daughter, but she couldn't help it. The village killed all of her precious people, and she couldn't stand staying any longer.

Even though she knew Hinata would receive some of the same treatment Kushina did when everyone thought she held the demon in her, she felt leaving would be alright as she knew that Minato and Kushina would be there to care for her. Because, after all, who, in their right mind, would try and harm the baby that the Hokage and his wife were surely to adopt?

Tsunade left the village in such a hurry to try and rid herself of the pain she felt just by being there, that she never even thought things wouldn't turn out the way they should. Her heart was broken.

Minato was sad to let her go, but realized he couldn't keep her. She needed her space to heal. He did, however, get her to promise him to come back one day and take Hinata on as an apprentice. Tsunade requested it to be after Hinata's Byakugan was unsealed, as not only would it help her with her training as a Medic, but also because it would probably allow her to stay away from the village for a longer period of time.

Jiraiya also left the village just as Tsunade had because he was going to figure out as much as he could about the man in the mask. He, unlike Tsunade, however, was going to keep in touch with the village as much as he could to keep them informed. He had a spy network set up all over the countries, so he was their best bet at obtaining information. He was just as much a spy master, as he was a famous toad sage.

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><p>Three days had passed since the village was attacked. The village was still repairing itself, and the people were still mourning and burying all of those who perished.<p>

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya had vanished without a trace, but no one paid any attention to that. Everyone was just too busy to worry about a couple of people disappearing, even if they were the Legendary Sannin.

On the third day after the attack, the elders and Minato decided it was time to discuss what would happen to Hinata, the baby whose body now contained the demon of the nine tailed fox.

Everyone in the village would know Hinata was the container of the fox, but they would know her as Akane Hinata. The night the fox attacked, it was decided that she wasn't going to be known as Uzumaki as it would put her more at risk than anything.

Minato and his wife planned on adopting Hinata, but both had a felling it wouldn't work out.

Kushina was heartbroken that her sister had died, and that her daughter was going to suffer as she grew up. She was still angry at Minato for what he had done.

Kushina would have liked nothing more than to bring Hinata home with her to raise her, but knew it probably wouldn't go as planned. And just as Murphy's Law states, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. And wrong it most certainly went.

The village elders fought and argued with them for many days.

They came up with the excuse that if they were going to adopt one child who was left orphaned from the attacked then they would have to adopt all of them. They couldn't give just one orphan special treatment, not when so many others would suffer just like her.

They couldn't show favoritism like that to one child, not when so many others lost their parents. It wouldn't be right as Hokage.

The Hokage had to put all people in the village first, not just one child.

Neither had any connections to the child, the elders believed, as they were told that they had to grab the closest baby, whose mother had just died. The elders had trouble believing that story completely, but it helped them win the debate.

Seeing no other choice, Minato and Kushina decided to find the best home for her. And that's when they found out about The Nobuo Home for Orphaned Children. It was one of the most reputable orphanage's in the village. Because of its reputation, Kushina and Minato decided to place Hinata there once the Orphanage was rebuilt. Until then, they were allowed to watch over her.

Even though Kushina and Minato wanted to, they just couldn't keep an eye on Hinata as much as they would have liked. Kushina was still an active shinobi, and because she was one of the strongest, she was sent out on missions to keep up appearances that the village was still strong. They couldn't risk letting other countries know just how weak they were, after all. And Minato, being the Hokage, was always busy. He had a village to repair.

It became even harder to keep an eye on her when Kushina got pregnant and gave birth to her own son, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

However, they still managed to check up on her at least once a month, and whenever they did, she seemed fine albeit a bit shy and withdrawn. The caretaker, Nobuo Kuro, always seemed friendly enough, also.

However, things were not as fine as they believed them to be.

Hinata was not cared for as well as she should have been. She got plenty of food and water, but she wasn't getting much love or affection.

Kuro in the beginning tried to treat her like the other children, but soon found himself doing what he swore he would never do, drink. The alcohol slowly changed him, and it was because of that that he began to seclude and neglect her. And, only on the days he drank too much, did he hit her. While he didn't beat her severely, the smallest of taps could feel horrible to a child, especially when they didn't feel loved.

The fact that she was also confined to her own separate room and was rarely allowed to interact with the other orphans didn't help matters. It was because of that that made her withdraw inside of herself.

The only time the orphanage owner made her look like she was being properly cared for was when the Hokage or his wife came for their monthly visit. During this time she was allowed out of her room and was allowed to play with the other children, though it felt awkward for her. She never said much when she was around them, and they never said much to her.

They were part of different worlds.

There was them, and then there was her.

The other kids knew she was different, knew there was a reason she was to be ignored. They just didn't know exactly what it was. However, that didn't stop them from learning to leave her out of things.

Hinata was afraid to say something to the Hokage or Kushina in fear of being punished even more. She also did not want to risk never seeing them again.

She never realized that they would have gotten her out of there no matter what had they known what went on.

Hinata liked it when they came, but she hated to see them go more for she knew what was going to happen as soon as they left.

She would suffer from mental pain and, on occasion, physical pain as well.

Too many nights to count, she cradled one of the few toys she was allowed to have, a ratty old stuffed fox (her caretaker, Kuro, had given it to her one night when he was drunk because she was a demon and deserved only the company of a demon). However, she didn't care what it represented, for she was too broken to.

No one loved her, no one cared for her, no one wanted her around (except maybe the Hokage and his wife, but she hardly saw them…she assumed they only came to see her once a month because they felt sorry for her, not because they loved her).

She was alone.

She would always be alone.

She would never get the attention or respect or love she wanted or deserved.

Or so she thought.

_**End.**_

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><p>.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: So what do you think? Is it good or bad?**

**Also, something I should add so not to confuse anyone. Hinata was born in the December of the same year as Neji, Tenten, and Lee so she is the oldest out of the rookie nine instead of the youngest. That's how the fox was able to attack before Naruto was born, not after.**

**And Seiko and Kushina aren't really sisters, just saying that in case anyone missed it. They're really close and consider themselves to be even though they are not blood related. Keep in mind that I will refer to them as being sisters even when by blood they are not. So, even when I say they are sisters, no one has to worry about incest happening when Naruto and Hinata get together as they weren't really sisters by blood, but only by the strong bond they shared with one another.**

**One last thing, here is the character profile for Uzumaki Seiko:**

_**Name:**_ **_Uzumaki Seiko_**

**_Age: 24; Deceased_**

_**Academy Graduation Age:**__** 6**_

_**Chūnin Promotion Age:**__** 14**_

_**Special Jōnin Promotion Age:**__** 15**_

_**Family:**_

_**Mother- Uzumaki Hinata- Deceased.  
>Daughter- Uzumaki Hinata (Named After Mother) <strong>_

_**Abilities:**_

_**Seiko, even though she was a Jinchūriki, had surprisingly good chakra control. Because of that, she joined the Medical Corps in hopes of becoming a great medic. She liked the idea of helping others more than hurting them. **_

_**A few years after she joined, Tsunade, who was in charge, realized that she held great promise, and decided to take her on as an apprentice. **_

_**She became one of the best Medics in the village under Tsunade's tutelage.**_

_**Because she specialized in Medical Ninjutsu, and her other skills were lacking, she only ever made it to the rank of Tokubetsu Jōnin.**_

_**Personality/Background:**_

_**Seiko was a shy and polite girl who had grown up with Kushina, who was four years older than she. Even though they were not related, she thought of Kushina as her older sister. **_

_**At a young age, Seiko was chosen to become the next Jinchūriki for the nine tailed fox. Kushina realizing the kind of life she would have if anyone found out, went with Seiko to the Hidden Leaf Village and decided that she would not let her sister live that way. Kushina swore to always be by Seiko's side and protect her as she did not want her to be alone. **_

_**No one in the village realized Seiko was the Jinchūriki because of Kushina. They all thought Kushina was the Jinchūriki. Kushina was able to talk Hiruzen into making everyone believe she was the fox's jailor. Kushina argued with him that it would protect Seiko even further if no one realized that she was the Jinchūriki (as seen later when Kushina was kidnapped). Hiruzen saw the logic, and agreed to the request; he couldn't say no to her will of fire. **_

_**Even though Seiko was four years younger than Kushina, she entered the academy the same year so her body would be strong enough to hold the fox. She was four years old, and Kushina was eight. They only spent two years in the academy.**_

_**In the academy, Seiko couldn't help but want to befriend Hyūga Hiashi, no matter how stuck up and full of himself he was. **_

_**After graduating at six, she was placed on a team with him. During the next ten years, they became friends, and sometime after they both became Chūnin they began falling for one another. **_

_**When Seiko was twenty one, Hiashi proposed to her and she accepted immediately. **_

_**However, through the years, Seiko realized how much trouble she was putting Hiashi through. The elders of the clan despised her, and were fighting to cancel their marriage. They wanted nothing to do with her. **_

_**Because she felt like all of the fighting was her fault, she canceled the engagement after two years, hoping that Hiashi would find happiness within the clan.**_

_**However, a few weeks later, Seiko realized she was pregnant with Hiashi's child. However, because Hiashi was soon to be wed to a woman in the clan, Seiko wanted to keep the pregnancy a secret from him. She did not want to ruin his chance at a family. **_


	2. The Truth

_**How Things Change:**__**  
>Chapter I~ The Truth<strong>_

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><p><em>Seven Years Later: Night of December 27.<em>

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><p>Crunch<p>

Crunch

_**SNAP**_

Hinata's eyes snapped open as she heard the loud sound outside of her bedroom window. Her breathing ragged, she tried to calm her racing heart.

_'Don't be scared…it's probably just an animal outside my window…and even if it isn't my window is locked and bar—_'

Hinata's thought was cut short when she looked to her window and saw that it was wide open, and there were no bars on it. Her window always had bars on it, and it was always locked, so why was it opened?

The snap of a twig she heard outside wasn't from someone messing with her window, the bars were on the inside anyways, and it locked from the inside. If someone had tried to open it from outside an alarm would have sounded, and it would have had to be broken.

But it wasn't.

It was opened.

As if someone left it so.

Hinata bit her lip. This wasn't good. She could feel it; something bad was going to happen.

_'Did Kuro-sama leave it open…?' _Hinata thought, terrified.

Kuro was her caretaker, and the only one with a key to her window. To all other orphans in the orphanage he was a kind and gentle man, but not to her. He mostly ignored and secluded her, but other times, when he drank that vile smelling liquid, he sometimes hit her.

He never let her forget that she caused the death of his wife, when he did those things.

Hinata never understood how she could be blamed for something as horrible as that, for something she couldn't have possibly done; she never killed anyone. However, that didn't stop her from apologizing over and over again in hopes the emotional pain would stop.

Sometimes, just sometimes, Hinata could see what looked like guilt in his eyes when he listened to her cry, but almost as soon as she would see it, it would disappear and his eyes would turn cold and heartless again and he would continue on with what he was doing.

That night's beating was especially bad because it was her birthday.

She hated her birthday. It always brought bad things.

Kuro always seemed to punish her more severely on it.

She knew that the others kids in the orphanage got treated better on their birthdays, and she always wondered why she did not. They did not have huge birthday celebrations, but they always seemed to be treated to something special, and she could always hear the faint sound of the birthday song being sang to them.

_Happy birthday to you…happy birthday to you…_

She never got that treatment. All she received from her caretakers on her birthday was physical and mental pain.

And tonight, it would be no different.

Hinata couldn't help but feel as if something bad were going to happen to her. Not only that, but she vaguely remembered that Kuro had injected her with some sort of clear liquid that put her to sleep almost instantly.

Is that why she never stirred when he removed the bars, because, surely something that was bolted into the wall would have made enough noise to wake her?

She still could feel the drowsiness that the medicine had caused, but it wasn't enough to put her back to sleep. She wasn't sure if that were a good or a bad thing…wasn't sure if she'd rather be awake to try to save her life if she could, or just sleep peacefully away as it ended.

These weren't the things a six-just-turned-seven year old should have to worry about, but there she was, a girl forced to endure pain and suffering everyday…a girl who couldn't help but worry.

She knew that many people felt some hatred or fear towards her; she noticed it whenever the Hokage or his wife would take her out for a walk when they visited. She didn't understand why she deserved the hate filled glares she'd get from many, and couldn't make sense of the fact that some even backed away with fear. She never did anything to anyone; she didn't even get to be in the company of others very often, so how would she get the chance to? She hated the feeling of loneliness that surrounded her, that entrapped her within its sticky web since she could ever remember.

She was breaking with every day that passed by, if things continued on as they were there would be nothing left to save…nothing left of Hinata.

She would become an empty shell of her former self, or perhaps someone who she would never want to become...something the villagers would regret ever creating.

On the nights that she received the worst punishments, she could always hear a small voice whispering in her head…a small voice telling her to kill…

Another sound brought Hinata from her thoughts and she hurried to cover her face with her tattered, old blanket and prayed to someone, anyone, to help her. She didn't want anything to happen to her; deep down she knew she'd rather live than die.

If nobody helped her something bad was going to happen to her, she could feel it. She just wanted anyone to be there for her once, to be there to save her when she needed it most.

She never felt more afraid for her safety than she did at that moment.

Hinata stayed curled in her musty smelling blanket, waiting. She didn't dare move, she didn't dare breathe, and she didn't dare make a sound. If she stayed like that, perhaps no one would notice her?

Seconds dragged by as if they were minutes, minutes as if they were hours. She stayed immobilized with fear for many minutes before she thought that maybe she had overreacted…

Slowly, she pulled the blanket from over her head, and as she did her body froze in terror. In front of her was a man, a ninja (she could tell by his headband), dressed all in black with a mask that covered his face from nose down. The scariest part of all was the look in his eyes, the look that screamed for blood.

He had the eyes of a lunatic.

"Now is the time, Akihiko…now is the time…" The man whispered to somebody Hinata couldn't see.

Before Hinata had the chance to let out the scream that was building up in her throat, a rough hand covered her mouth. Hinata was terrified and as her tears fell down her face she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck.

The last thought running through her head before she succumbed to the darkness was, _'I'm gonna die… '_

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><p><em>.<em>

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><p>The ninja took no time in hauling the helpless monster (because, after all, she was far from being an innocent girl) over his shoulder. As soon as he held her securely, he silently jumped from the window. As soon as his foot hit the ground, he disappeared quietly within a puff smoke as he body flickered away to safety.<p>

The man that had kidnapped Hinata was a man in his early twenties by the name of Dai Takeshi He was the sole survivor of his eight member family, all of whom had perished at the hands of the nine tailed fox. He, and his twin brother, Akihiko (who was also a ninja), were trying to get their mother, father, and younger siblings to the civilian shelters when they were attacked. It was so quick and unexpected, that they had no time to act. It was pure luck that Takeshi escaped death, if only just barely.

That day had changed his outlook on life completely.

Soon after the attack, Takeshi had become addicted to narcotic pain medication; he was prescribed them because of the damage that was done to him. He couldn't stop himself. He wanted the pain to stop more than anything, and the drugs helped him cope with his loss. However, the more pills he took the worse he got.

His head was never the same the day he was nearly crushed to death, and his addiction did nothing to help it.

It only made him lose his sanity more rapidly.

Wherever he went he could see his older brother, Akihiko, telling him he was a disgrace, telling him it was his fault for their deaths, telling him that it should have been him who had died…

Well, that was finally going to change! Finally he would rid the world of the demon that caused all of his pain, and his brother would stop haunting him, stop accusing him...

The elders of the village knew of his deep hatred for the Jinchūriki, and had approached him with a top secret mission, the first he had received in five years. It was so secret, that he was forced to have a special seal placed on his tongue so he couldn't reveal anything. Not only that, but if someone were to interrogate him, or look within his mind, the seal would erase all memory of the elders involvement, all mentions of this being a mission. It would happen so quick that no one would have time to try and remove the seal.

All anyone would find in his mind would be his deep hatred for the demon girl, and his need for revenge.

He had agreed to these precautions, and took up the task.

He knew he would be rewarded generously if he succeeded, but the best reward of all would be the death of the demon.

Takeshi originally wasn't planning to torture the girl. He had every intention to just dispose of her. However, he had done something he shouldn't that night; Takeshi had mixed drugs with alcohol which made for a very bad combination.

He was now going to make her pay for all the wrongs she had committed!

He was going to kill her, but not a moment before he made her suffer. Her last moments of life would be hell and he was prepared to do _anything _to make it so.

"Soon Akihiko, you'll be able to rest in peace…" Takeshi whispered, noticing the shadow of his brother following him. His eyes held a faraway, unstable look as he stared into the cold, dead eyes of his brother.

'_Soon…'_

When the man reached the spot in the middle of the forest he had planned on, he roughly threw Hinata from his arms and watched as she landed on the hard ground. Hinata jolted awake as a moan of pain escaped from her lips. Hinata's eyes opened slowly and when they did she quickly noticed she was no longer in her room…she didn't know where she was. For all she knew, she could have been outside of the village.

She was surrounded by trees, alone…well not really alone, the masked man was with her. But he was far from being wanted company.

Even though she knew it was pointless, Hinata scrambled to her feet and tried to run. She didn't even make it two steps when she was pushed to the ground, forcefully.

Hinata landed so hard she lost her breath. She looked up to the man and couldn't help but feel terrified. The way he looked at her…it was worse than any look that Kuro had ever given her, worse than anyone in the village had ever given her.

His eyes held insanity.

Hinata wished the mask he wore covered his entire face; she didn't want to see his malicious, wild eyes.

Hinata felt as if she were going to be trapped within his hate-filled eyes forever, never able to find a way out.

It was extremely hard for her to turn away from him, but she forced herself. She tried to crawl away, but that just angered him.

She didn't actually think she was going to leave alive and unharmed, did she?

Sending a powerful kick to her gut, Hinata's breath was completely knocked out of her. The pain was unbearable, and her eyes were on the verge of rolling into the back of her head as she was close to passing out once more. When the man noticed this, he pulled her up by her hair.

Hinata let out a small screech of pain as it felt as if he were going to rip all of her hair out.

Under the mask, the man smiled.

This was just the beginning.

The day was December twenty-seventh.

Not only was it the anniversary of his family's death, but it also was the day of the demon's birth. He couldn't think of a more befitting gift for the girl…a trip straight to the devil himself.

'_Finally I'll have my revenge…finally my brother will forgive me!'_

That was what it was all was about.

His brother.

He couldn't stand seeing Akihiko blame him for his and their family's deaths. He just wanted it to stop, just wanted him to leave him alone.

_It's all your fault…_

_You killed us…_

_All your fault…_

_You should just die!_

_**DIE!**_

"I am not the one who killed you, Akihiko!" Takeshi yelled out to an invisible entity Hinata couldn't see.

No one but he could see him.

'_He's crazy!' _Hinata thought as she cowered in fear as he pointed toward her.

"This little demon killed you! Don't you see? She did it. SHE KILLED YOU ALL!"

_Then take care of her._

_Kill her!_

_Kill her!_

_**KILL HER!**_

Takeshi nodded his head to no one once more.

"What do you think I'm doing, Aki-chan? But I can't just kill her. I need to destroy everything about her…she needs to suffer as much as we did…" Takeshi mumbled to himself, his eyes became more and more unstable. "She needs the feel the pain we did!"

_Then do it!_

_Destroy her!_

Looking toward the cowering girl, Takeshi let out a chuckle. The demon would finally pay!

They were unlikely to be interrupted as there was a huge memorial celebration in honor of the Third Hokage, and his sacrifice for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Almost all ninja and civilians alike would be in the center part of town celebrating, many probably as drunk as he was (though maybe not as high on narcotics as he was).

He wasn't even at risk for the gate's guards to catch him; he wasn't stupid, he doubted he could have made it out safely. So instead, he had head into the opposite direction. He was far in the forest that surrounded the training grounds, but still within the village's protective walls.

He was where his family house once stood, though nothing was left of it but ash.

He had decided on this place a head of time, and had even a sound barrier put up just in case. Also, even though he wasn't very good at it, he put up a small Genjutsu to try and hide him and the girl. Any ninja Chūnin and above were unlikely to fall for it, but it made him feel a bit safer with it up. He didn't want anyone to catch them before he finished with her, didn't want anyone to ruin his and his brother's revenge….

Bending down, he pulled Hinata closer to his face.

"Princess," He said hatefully, the smell of alcohol was far stronger on his breath than it ever was on Kuro's. "You weren't really thinking of passing out on me now, were you? Not when we have so much _fun_ planned for tonight?"

Then he laughed.

The laugher caused her blood to turn into liquid ice inside her veins which sent shivers down her back.

"W-w-why a-a-are you d-d-doing this to m-me?" She stuttered out, on the verge of tears, his laughter had pierced right through her; she knew she wasn't going to come out of this unharmed.

"You really have to ask? I'm doing this because you killed everyone who I held dear…you left them in such a state that they weren't even recognizable! Pieces of them literally had to be wiped up off the ground! YOU TORE MY BROTHER IN HALF WHEN HE TRIED TO SAVE ME FROM YOU!" His anger skyrocketed.

"You're a demon who does not deserve to live! As soon as you were created, you should have been destroyed! And now it is up to me to fix the only mistake the Fourth Hokage made: letting a demon like you live!" He wasn't yelling anymore, but each word held so much hate and anger that it made it all the more terrifying.

"I-I-I've n-n-never k-k-killed anyone!" Hinata cried out, petrified.

The man was insane; how could she possibly do all that? She had only just turned seven, she was just a kid.

_**SHE LIES!**_

This caused the man to lose his temper as he backhanded her so hard she flew a few feet away.

The pain his hit caused made Hinata sob while holding her face. Her cheek was already starting to swell.

"The lies of a demon! Of course you did, you're the nine tailed demon fox itself! You were the cause of so much pain and suffering and now it is the time you will receive it tenfold!"

Hinata couldn't do anything but sit on the ground with her hand cradling her injured cheek. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she shook her head no. She didn't understand any of it, she wasn't a demon. She wasn't a demon, she couldn't be a demon. It didn't make sense. She was Hinata, an unloved orphan, not a demon.

He was crazy.

The demon was dead, everyone knew that. What was this crazy man thinking? How could he say such nonsense? Even at seven, Hinata knew it couldn't possibly be the truth…could it? She knew many villagers disliked her, but she had never seen the same kind of hate in their eyes as she did in the man's. He really believed in all of what he was saying…he never once stopped to think of how crazy he was being.

The shaking of her head and her refusal to believe what he was saying angered Takeshi more. He walked over to the fallen girl and dragged her up by the hair once more to look her squarely in the eyes.

"No more talking, it's time for your punishment!"

Hinata could hear the joy in his words. The way he said that caused her heart to crumble away in fear. A lump filled her throat, making her unable to breathe as the sobs resonated through her.

No one was going to save her that much was evident.

No one was ever there for her, and tonight it would be no different.

For hours Hinata suffered. For hours he did the most horrible things imaginable; she'd never been in so much pain in her whole life. The pain he inflicted upon her made Kuro's worst beating look like a small, powerless slap, a tap really. There was only one word that could come close to describing what he was doing.

Torture.

He was torturing her, and no one was there to stop him.

He would cut her, though not deeply, let her bleed out, wait for it to start closing, and start all over again. Hinata from a young age realized that she healed within hours from scrapes and bruises and he was taking advantage of that. She never hated her accelerated healing more than at that moment.

The only time she got a small break from the pain was when she'd lose the power to remain conscious…however, it didn't take long for Takeshi to revive her using some horrid smelling salts.

He broke a few of her bones, as well as her spirit in just a couple of hours.

He was relentless in the assault, taking out all of his pent up frustration on her. He was not thinking straight, and the only thing he could hear was the sound of Akihiko's voice in his head.

_More!_

_More!_

_**MORE!**_

It was hell what he was putting her through, and Hinata was incapable to fight back. She was only a small, defenseless girl in the hands of a raging lunatic. She couldn't do a thing except take the punishment he inflicted upon her. Maybe, she thought, he was correct in calling her a demon…why else would someone deserve the pain he was causing her? No one deserved what he was doing to her, nothing deserved it except, perhaps, for a demon…

Hinata's screams filled the quiet air, as she hoped desperately for it to all end.

Every time he touched her it caused her to screech in agony. Every time he cut her it caused a new sort of pain to rip through her entire body, progressively getting worse and worse as he went. She just wanted it to end; death would be so much easier, and a lot less painful. She prayed for death, but it seemed as if it were never going to come.

_'Why can't I just die now?!' _She thought to herself as the pain continued on and on and on.

Hinata shut her eyes tightly and tried to think of something, anything other than what was happening to her as she waited for it all to end.

She was dead on the inside already, why couldn't it just be over? What did she ever do to receive such cruelty? Why would no one help her? Why did no one care?

No one was ever there to help her. Not now, not ever. She was going to die alone in the world, and not a single person was going to care.

Not one person was going to care!

Hatred began to fill her, burning her from the inside out. She hated the Hokage and his wife for not being able to protect her, Kuro for allowing her window to be open and thus allowing this to happen, and the villagers for always looking at her as if she were going to attack them at any given moment.

She especially hated the man who stood over her and wished from the bottom of her heart that when he died he suffered for all eternity.

Takeshi, ignoring Hinata's hate filled eyes, continued on with what he was doing, all the while getting angrier and angrier and angrier.

Nothing was enough!

He could stab her all he wanted, but it did little to satisfy him, little to satisfy Akihiko!

She needed to pay for all of her sins, but none of it was cutting it!

His brother would never forgive him if it kept up!

_You failed Takeshi…_

He tried to ignore the voice of his brother, but could not as he continued.

_**YOU FAILED!**_

"I did not fail you, Akihiko!I promise I'll make her pay!" He yelled out frantically, getting ready for his next plan of attack.

He refused to fail his brother.

There was only one thing left he could try before he ended her existence, something no one would ever want to go through…

After he finished reviving Hinata once more, and he felt she were conscious enough to experience the full impact of what he was doing, he leaned forward to her and caressed her face. His touch sent shivers down Hinata's back; the feel of his hand softly brushing against her face felt worse and more wrong to her than when he was attacking her.

"I wonder, how you will you handle what's next?"

Under his mask he grinned, his eyes held nothing but craziness.

"Akihiko will be happy once I'm done…he'll be happy. My brother will finally be happy and will leave me alone. Once I am done with you…he will love me again."

Hinata's eyes widened in fear; what else could he possibly do to her?

It didn't take her long to find out.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Another hour seemed to have passed by, but it had only been a few minutes. No noise could be heard from the young, broken girl at Takeshi's feet, and it was because of that, that he stopped hurting her.<p>

What satisfaction could he or Akihiko get when she was silent?

_You couldn't even do this right, Takeshi… _

Takeshi stood away from Hinata as he tried to ignore the voice, and pulled a kunai out from his vest.

"I guess it's time to end this…"

His brother was right. He did fail.

He would never free himself.

He needed to accept that.

Hinata, hearing him, turned her head toward Takeshi one last time. A deep hatred burned in her eyes. Takeshi jumped back slightly and almost dropped the kunai he held. He could have sworn her eyes had flashed red for a moment. However, when he took a second look, he saw that he must have been mistaken.

"I hope you enjoy your stay in Hell!" Takeshi spat out, ready to plunge the kunai straight into her heart.

In one fluid motion, Takeshi brought the knife down upon Hinata. When she saw this, she closed her eyes once again and couldn't help but feel relieved it was all over. Her death would be celebrated, she knew it would. Everyone would be happy, and she would be happy to be away from it all; she wouldn't have to be around to deal with anyone anymore.

Finally, she could rest peacefully.

Maybe she'd be able to meet the parents she was told had died during the Kyūbi's attack?

Hinata remained motionless for a few seconds waiting for that one last bit of pain she was to feel before resting eternally…only it never came.

Hinata was confused.

Had it happened so fast she never felt it?

Slowly her eyes opened and as they did they widened in surprise at what she saw. A man with silver, spikey hair held the man's wrist firmly in his hand. Hinata could tell by her torturer's grimace that it was painful, that his bone was close to breaking. The mystery man's eyes were full of anger, one of which appeared to be red. This time the anger wasn't being directed at her, however, but at the one who had caused her so much pain.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you now." the unknown man said, threatening.

His voice was steady, but Hinata could hear the edge of malice in it. It was obvious he would like nothing more than to kill the man himself.

"I-it would b-be treason!" Is all he said in fear; he tried to explain it was a mission, but was unable to because of the seal.

He was in serious trouble, and knew he was unlikely to live, especially when it was Hatake Kakashi who had caught him.

Everyone knew of Kakashi. He was the disciple of the Yondaime, and he was rumored to have copied one thousand Jutsu.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes but, instead of killing him, knocked him out cold. The Hokage would deal with him…and he would be far angrier than Kakashi was.

Once the man was out of commission, he turned to the young girl on the ground, who was obviously starting to go into shock from the pain and blood loss. He knew who the girl was, he was sent specifically to find her. That wasn't the only reason he knew who she was, however, anyone would know if they saw her. He, like many, knew she was a Jinchūriki, but unlike many, he neither hated nor feared her.

He bent down to her and placed a reassuring hand on her head. He was going to put her into a Genjutsu induced state to help her feel no pain until she was treated at the hospital. He was going to make it so she slept peacefully, with no nightmares to disturb her.

"It'll be alright now, Hinata, I've got you. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you, not now, not ever. You can relax easily now." He stared into her eyes with his red, Sharingan eye and began to weave the Genjutsu over her.

Hinata was about to fall asleep but, before she did, in a quiet whisper, she asked, "A-are y-you my g-guardian angel?"

Before he could respond, her eyes closed and she was finally at peace.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Kakashi had been interrupted while showering by his mentor and friend, Minato, and was told to help him search the village for Hinata. Apparently Kushina made a surprise visit to the orphanage to give Hinata her present, and it was there that she discovered the intoxicated caretaker.<p>

He had been curled in the corner, clutching a bottle of sake, sobbing.

Kushina tried to talk to him, but he did not answer her. When she asked where Hinata was, he only pointed to her room.

Kushina rushed in, but was disappointed in what she found.

The room was empty.

Kushina took the owner of the orphanage into custody when she realized it wasn't opened by force, and he revealed to them that he had in fact left her window open on purpose; however, when they tried to get him to explain why he did so, it were as if something was stopping him from speaking.

He said he couldn't remember why he wanted to do it, only that he had to. He told her that he tried to fight it, but he could not stop himself.

Because it sounded like he was being influenced by Genjutsu, they then summoned Yamanaka Inoichi to look into the man's head. When Inoichi entered his mind, however, it was as if it were wiped clean about the whole ordeal.

They could, however, see his earlier members and it was then that they came to know about the treatment Hinata received in the orphanage.

After going through the memories he could see Inoichi had then informed the Hokage that he didn't believe Kuro was completely at fault for leaving the window open, as he did indeed feel the lingering side effects of a Genjutsu in his mind and that was something a civilian would have no chance of fighting against.

He told them it had only just recently been placed over him, though, and that it didn't explain all of his actions toward Hinata, though he wished it had.

The man, Kuro, was not really a bad guy and Inoichi couldn't help but a feel bad for him. He suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder after his wife's death and took it out on the person he thought was to blame: Hinata.

The pain of his wife's death completely broke the old man, Inoichi realized. She had been the only person he had ever known for most of his sixty five years of life; he grew up in an orphanage with her after both of his parents died, and later on fell in love with her. It was too much for him when she died as a part of him died as well, and for years he suffered untreated.

Inoichi learned that Kuro felt guilty for causing Hinata to suffer, however, at the same time, learned that Kuro couldn't stop himself and his drinking problem did not help matters at all. In fact, it made everything worse.

Inoichi was surprised that the elderly man hadn't succumbed to his inner thoughts and committed suicide yet, because that was where he was surely headed.

What made Inoichi feel even worse, though, was the fact that Kuro never intended on killing Hinata, and that he felt much guilt for ever opening her window.

Inoichi explained these things to Minato, and told them it would be best to transfer him to the mental ward once everything was figured out so he could receive the much needed treatment he needed.

Minato agreed, understanding it would be for the best. The elderly man could still be saved as he wasn't past redemption.

When they realized they were not going to get any more information about what was going on, Minato had summoned Kakashi to help find her. There would be no other ninja they trusted more in helping find her, and quickly. He was one of the best trackers the village had to offer.

So it had been decided that Kushina, Minato, and Kakashi would split up into different directions searching for her. They didn't want it to get out that the village's Jinchūriki was missing.

Kakashi had to act so quickly that he had no time to get dressed in his full shinobi gear, and wasn't even wearing his mask because he was showering when they found him. He barely had time to throw his pants on.

But he hadn't cared. All he wanted to do was find the girl he knew Kushina and Minato loved like their own.

When he found her, he had been horrified. She had been tortured, that much was obvious, and was soon going to be cut down.

He had almost snapped when he saw her lying there helpless.

Kakashi shook his head to clear it. She was more important than thinking about it.

As soon as she was fast asleep, Kakashi pulled his white shirt off and put it on the girl, and gently picked her up. He was glad he found her, but wished he had sooner...before that man had hurt her. The pain she must have been going through caused Kakashi to hurt for the girl.

Before setting off towards the hospital, Kakashi summoned one of his ninja hounds to watch over the man who lay unconscious on the ground until a member of ANBU arrived to take him into custody, and two more to let Kushina and Minato know where to meet him. As soon as that was done he concentrated his chakra to his feet and ran as fast as he could to the hospital.

At the hospital, he demanded that someone help the girl out immediately. As soon as he did that, he was surrounded by medical ninja asking what had happened. Many of these people held some fear and hatred towards the girl, but the sight of her covered in so much blood had softened many of their cold hearts.

It was hard to look at the girl and not hurt for her.

Even she didn't deserve what had happened to her.

"A man attacked and tortured her." Kakashi said sadly to group of medical ninja as he placed her on a bed.

The medical ninja who was obviously in charge rolled her down the hall to an examination room with Kakashi following behind. She was calling for an IV drip immediately, and the strongest pain killer they had, and, much to Kakashi's surprise, the rape kit.

"She was molested?!" He blurted out, feeling sick to his stomach.

The medical ninja nodded grimly.

"That seems to be the case, Hatake-san."

Kakashi's mouth hung opened in shock…how could he do that to her?

She was only a child!

The medical ninja quickly ordered for him to leave when his killing intent started to spike.

"I'm sorry, Hatake-san, but I have a lot of work to do and you are making it hard to do it." The medical ninja told him as she gently pushed him out of the room. "Go to the waiting area, and I'll summon you when I'm finished."

Kakashi nodded his head as he walked out, causing more than one civilian to pass out from his chakra.

He wasn't out there more than a few minutes when Kushina burst into the hospital room and demanded to know what happened. Kakashi was quick to explain how he found Hinata. It was hard for him to mention that the medical ninja in charge believed her to have been molested, and when he did, Kushina would have fallen to the ground if Minato wasn't there to steady her.

"How could anyone do that to her? She's just a little girl!" She shouted out as tears fell from her eyes.

Kakashi thought the same and shook his head. She was only seven. No one should suffer like that, especially not someone so young. He doubted she even knew what had happened to her when he molested her. She was too young, and innocent to know what that was.

Kakashi had known hardened Kunoichi who had been broken because of sexual assault. This was going to leave an emotional scar which would haunt Hinata's mind forever.

After a few minutes of talking, everyone got silent.

Minato held Kushina in his arms rocking her back forth, his face was displaying no emotion. Kakashi knew better than think he was unaffected by what had happened to Hinata, on the contrary, Kakashi new exactly what he was doing. He was thinking. And when he was thinking he became one of the most dangerous men imaginable…he became the Yellow Flash, the man who had slaughtered an entire army single handedly.

After what seemed like hours, the same medical ninja as before returned.

"I've done all I can do. All we can do now is wait for her to wake up. You may go see her if you'd like."

Kushina was the first to leap to her feet and dash into the room. What she saw made her sob uncontrollably in her husband's arm. She hated seeing Hinata so helpless. Hinata was covered in bandages, and was hooked up to quite a few machines. She had a tube down her throat to help her breath, and an IV in her arm. After what felt like hours, Kushina finished her crying and her own killing intent began to radiate off of her.

"I'll kill him."

Only problem was, she would never get the chance too.

* * *

><p>.<p>

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* * *

><p>A few days had passed, and Hinata still hadn't awakened. However, this wasn't because she fell into a coma. It was the opposite, actually. There were quite a few times she would have awoken on her own if it weren't for the fact that her health care provider had been the one to decide to keep her unconscious using drugs. The reason the head medical nin, who was named Manami Chie, decided this was because of the fact that she believed it best if Hinata was mostly healed before she was to deal with what had happened to her.<p>

No matter what, it was going to be hard for her, but Chie had decided that it would be worse if she were still in pain.

No one argued with her as she was the doctor, after all, and nobody doubted she had the best of intentions in mind when it came to Hinata. It turned out that Chie had a daughter about Hinata's age and as such couldn't help but wonder what she would do if it were her own daughter lying in the bed instead of Hinata.

It turned out that most of the medical ninja in the Hospital had no ill feelings towards the girl, not after seeing how frail and hurt she looked. No one could seem to understand how anyone could have done that to her.

Minato and Kushina were happy that the people who ran the hospital had decided to accept Hinata, but were sad that it had taken such a drastic measure for it to happen. They hoped the villagers wouldn't need to see something as bad in order to accept her.

Even though Kushina and Minato felt that the medical staff posed no danger to Hinata, they still had decided to have her guarded at all times in case any outside threat emerged. Hatake Kakashi volunteered without hesitation. He, being one of the best Jōnin of the village, knew it shouldn't be too hard of a task, but he also volunteered because of the promise he had made to Hinata. He really would not let anything happen to her. Even so, not even Kakashi could run at his best without rest so had decided to ask his eccentric friend and rival, Maito Gai, to watch over her whenever he needed sleep.

Once Kakashi had explained what happened to her, Gai agreed to help without a second thought. Not much could piss off the happiest ninja in the village, but what that man had done to Hinata had easily done just that. Gai, always jumping in enthusiasm, had instead shaken in rage after Kakashi had informed him and he swore on his honor that he would not let anything else happen to the girl.

Neither Gai nor Kakashi ran into any trouble, however, and they hoped it stayed that way.

While Kakashi and Gai were at work protecting Hinata, Minato and Kushina were trying to figure out why and who attacked her. With the help of the village's best interrogation team— Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko, and Yamanaka Inoichi—it didn't take them long to find who the man was.

The man's name was Dai Takeshi, and he was a Chūnin level ninja. Also, it turned out, he was the only survivor of a family of eight; the other seven perished when the Kyūbi attacked. He had been put on suspension after burning down his house in a drug influenced frenzy, losing his ability to continue life as an active Chūnin; his mental state had been questionable, and he was sent into rehab, which in turn did nothing for him.

After doing a thorough investigation of his mind, Inoichi realized that he suffered from a severe case of Schizophrenia, something that should have been picked up years ago, while he was being treated for his drug abuse, for example. However, because of all of the casualties and injuries during the attack on the village, he had just been patched up and sent home with medication. No wonder he became addicted to the drugs.

Normally this sort of information would have caused Kushina or her husband to take some pity on the man, as they did with Nobuo Kuro, but after what he had done to Hinata, that pity would never exist. While Kuro had done some horrible things to Hinata, it was nothing like what Takeshi had done. And Kuro never once tried to kill her (not purposely anyways), and he actually felt guilty for what he had done to her.

Takeshi did not.

His job, as a ninja, was to protect the village and its people; not to cause them harm. Takeshi knew it was his responsibility as a shinobi to seek medical help when needed, no matter what. Instead, however, he turned back to drugs after leaving rehab and tortured one of the people, a civilian, he swore to protect.

After much interrogation, and yes, a bit of torture (nothing as severe as what he did to Hinata…his mostly involved Genjutsu), everyone involved in the case came to the conclusion that he was not working alone.

During the thorough investigation, they soon discovered that he had a seal placed on him that sealed his mind and tongue to keep him quiet. When they went back to check Kuro, they realized that he had the same seal placed on him. Even though they could not identify the true culprits after the seal wiped his mind, it brought attention to that fact that more than two people were involved in the plot.

Now they just needed the evidence to prove it.

Minato and Kushina told Ibiki, Inoichi, and Anko not to dig further as it could possibly cause them some problems. The two of them had a feeling they knew what other people were involved, but they were not going to release that information until they were absolutely sure. The three interrogators agreed to leave the case alone until their services were asked for again. They weren't sure when, it could be years for all they knew, but they had a feeling they would be needed again to help the Hokage and his wife. Those two weren't the kind of people to let a case go unsolved and the perpetrators go unpunished indefinitely.

After the interrogations were over, Dai Takeshi and Nobuo Kuro were confined (in separate cells) to an empty part of the prison and were guarded at all times. The ninja, who had to guard the two men, were only the Jōnin that the Hokage had complete trust in. He even had gotten his best Genjutsu specialist, a Chūnin who was sure to become a Jōnin, place them in illusions so they would get no rest (she, knowing exactly what Takeshi did to Hinata, made sure the Genjutsu he was trapped in made him suffer completely).

After both men were out of commission, and posed no threat to anyone else, Minato and Kushina had to figure out what was to happen to them and what they were going to do with Hinata after she was released from the hospital. And that brought them to the secret meeting they were currently having with one Hyūga Hiashi, leader of one of the most powerful clans in the village.

Hiashi was a powerful man, but even he needed his rest in order to run his clan as best as he could. And, for that reason, he found himself a bit irritated at the late meeting they were having. He, however, kept this to himself as he stood in front of the Hokage.

"What was of such importance that I needed to sneak out of my house in the middle of the night, Hokage-sama?" He asked in his usual stoic voice.

Minato sighed and hoped he was making a good decision. He knew that Hiashi held nothing but love for Seiko when she was alive, and he wondered if he still did even after her death…even after she betrayed him. He thought he might as he was one of the few clansmen that never said anything about Seiko even to this day, so he hoped that that was a good sign.

"Hiashi, this is an S-class secret I'm about to tell you, so remember if anything leaves this room I will consider it treason against myself and the village."

Hiashi nodded much more interested now. He was very curious as to what could be so important.

"I understand Hokage-sama, not a word of what you say shall leave my lips."

Minato nodded his head. "What I'm about to tell you involves Seiko, Hiashi. Before I begin, may I ask a question?"

Hiashi slowly nodded his head unsure of where this was going to go. "You may, Hokage-sama."

He, unlike many members of his clan and village, did not hate her for lying to him, and he knew she hadn't tricked him into falling in love with her. He still was hurt that she called their wedding off, but he could never hate her. He loved her too much to. Still, it had been years since he heard anyone speak of her. Not counting, of course, the times he overheard people starting those awful rumors about her.

"Before I begin, what I'd like to know is…what are your feelings about Uzumaki Seiko?" Minato asked slowly.

He wanted to make sure he wasn't making a terrible mistake by telling him what he had decided to tell him. Minato was watching Hiashi's every move, and would pick up on if he were telling the truth or not.

Hiashi thought for a moment, contemplating on what he should say, and then decided to just speak the truth. The two people before him were the least likely to give him any trouble for what he was going to say, he was, after all, standing in front of who Seiko called her older sister.

"I miss her every day, Hokage-sama, and wish she was still here." His once emotionless eyes held sadness. "I miss her every day, even though I am married. I fully intended on marrying her, even had I known about her Jinchūriki status, but she called the wedding off. It hurt me and I felt betrayed, but I could never hate her for it."

Minato realized he was telling the truth but still had to ask one more thing. "You feel this way, even though you are married to another woman, and have a child with her?"

"I care for my wife, and am happy to be by her side even though I was pushed to marry her so soon after Seiko called the wedding off and I'll never regret brining Hanabi into this world with her. But, even though that is the case, my love for Seiko meant so much to me. When she died, a little bit of me did as well." Hiashi stated, trying hard not to let the mask he always wore to hide his emotions break.

It was true. While he had grown to love his wife, he still couldn't fight back his feelings he held for Seiko.

Minato stared Hiashi down for a few minutes, looking for any sign of a lie.

When he was satisfied he was being truthful with him, he said, "I believe you, Hiashi, and I'm sorry I never told you any of what I'm about to tell you before now. You should have been one of the people to have known about this, but we were afraid of what would happen if you did know. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me…"

Hiashi was becoming a bit frustrated.

"What am I supposed to forgive you for, Hokage-sama?"

Minato looked away sadly as he spoke. "Hyūga Hanabi is not your only daughter, Hiashi, and she is not the rightful heiress to the clan."

Not much could utterly surprise Hiashi, but what he had said had done just that. "Come again?"

Minato looked back up and said, "I guess I should start from the beginning…"

And so that's what he did. He let Hiashi know everything that had happened all those years ago when Seiko had gone into labor. He was sure not to leave anything out. Hiashi had every right to know he had fathered a child with Seiko, and that his little girl was still alive. When he finished, both Kushina and Minato couldn't help but feel guilty for withholding information from the man who had obviously loved Seiko more than anything.

Hiashi, who had begun to listen to the tale standing, was now slouched in a chair with a defeated look about him. He felt betrayed by the Hokage and his late wife's sister for keeping this from him for so long. He also felt a bit betrayed by Seiko for keeping this from him when she was alive.

"Why didn't you tell me this before? If I had known about Hinata being my daughter, I would never have allowed her to grow up thinking both of her parents were dead."

Minato bowed his head. "We held the information from you because we didn't want Hinata to be in danger. We felt she would be in more danger within the confinement of your clan's wall, than outside of it. We know the elders of your clan, or most of them, hate Seiko and we felt they would do something drastic in order to keep her daughter, a bastard child, from bringing dishonor to your clan."

"So, why tell me now? I know what you speak has some truth to it, the elders of my clan do hate Seiko and I wouldn't put it past them to harm Hinata if they knew she was her daughter…so why are you telling me now?" Hiashi asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be good.

"We're telling you because…we failed at protecting Hinata."

Minato went into detail of what had happened a few nights previous to the meeting they were having.

When Minato was done speaking, Hiashi was shaking in rage. He was mad at the man who had caused his little girl so much pain, and he was angry at the Hokage and his wife for keeping it from him.

"And where is he?"

"Before I tell you, you need to promise me you won't kill him." Minato stated.

He would like nothing more than to have that man killed for his act of cruelty but he needed him alive…but only just barely. When Minato saw Hiashi narrow his eyes at him he decided to clarify what he wanted.

"I'll tell you where he is, but I need you to promise me he will still be alive after you finish with him. I don't care if he is only just barely alive, and will only be able to stay that way if he is on life support the rest of the time. I need him alive. His head holds a lot of answers if I can reverse the effects of that seal."

Hiashi calmed himself and nodded. "I understand, Hokage-sama. That man will still be alive."

Minato nodded, believing him. "Dai Takeshi is on the west side of the prison, in cell one hundred and thirteen. In an hour and a half there will be no one on duty. You will have fifteen minutes…and, please, don't leave any evidence. I do not want you connected to him at all."

Hiashi was confused. "Wouldn't I have a connection to him as soon as everyone knows I am Hinata's father?"

Minato sighed. "No one will know, you swore to keep what you heard in here to yourself…" when Minato saw just how angry Hiashi was becoming at this, he stated, "however, I do have a plan and you might find it interesting…"

For the next few minutes Minato explained just what he was planning to do with Hinata, and none of it involved Hiashi taking her home. Hiashi listened intently and realized it might be the best option out of everything. Even though he would have liked to take Hinata home with him, he did realize his clan posed a threat to her, especially since she was so young and had no training under her belt. They would not like her coming into the family, especially since she was a child born out of wedlock. The elders would think that Hinata's existence put Hanabi's, a full and pure Hyūga, position in danger. Hiashi was a busy man and would not always be able to be there for her.

Minato's plan would take care of everything so by the time Hiashi turned to leave the room he had agreed to go along with it.

Before he went, Kushina decided to speak up.

"Hiashi…I just want you to know Seiko loved you more than anyone. She wanted to marry you, and was looking forward to becoming your wife, and having a family with you, but she hated seeing you under so much stress from the clan. She thought she was helping you when she broke off the engagement…"

Hiashi looked toward Kushina briefly, a sense of relief showing in his eyes.

"Thank you, Kushina-sama, for telling me that."

He then turned and walked out the door.

After he closed the door, Kushina turned to her husband. "You think he really won't kill him?"

Minato nodded his head.

"I trust him," then he sighed. "But I believe it will be a while before he trusts us again."

Kushina lowered her head in shame. "And for good reason."

_'I hope you too will forgive me, Seiko-chan...'_

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><p><em>.<em>

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><p>About an hour had passed since the meeting Kushina and Minato had had with Hiashi. And within that time, a man dressed all in black crept into the village's security prison. He was silent, careful to never make a sound as he made his way to cell one hundred and thirteen.<p>

As he arrived to the cell he noticed the man contained within it was fast asleep. Using a bit of chakra, the man easily broke the cell's lock with only a small amount of noise. Even so that amount of noise would easily echo around the deserted prison. That is, if the masked man hadn't had the sense to put up a sound barrier.

That sound barrier did not erase the sound the breaking of the lock made in the cell, however, and the sound that had echoed within the enclosed space had easily woken the man who lay on a stiff mattress.

As Takeshi's eyes opened, fear had slowly crept over him. He would have no chance in fighting off whoever it was after him; his own chakra had been sealed away upon imprisonment, after all.

"Akihiko…?" he whispered, believing it was his brother coming to finish him off for his failure.

However, soon it became apparent that it wasn't his brother rising from the dead.

"Who are you?" he tried to ask in a neutral tone.

"Why would that matter to a dead man?" Hiashi simply stated.

A few minutes later, if it hadn't been for the sound barrier, Takeshi's screams would have been heard on the other side of the village.

Hyūga Hiashi left as silently as he arrived, leaving a man with a barely beating heart behind.

He had kept his promise to the Hokage, if only just barely.

_**End.**_

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><p>.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Here are the character profiles for Kuro and Takeshi…<strong>_

_**Name:**__** Nobuo Kuro (Kuro Nobuo) **_

_**Age:**__** 65 **_

_**Occupation:**__** Orphanage Owner/Civilian. **_

_**Family: **_

_** Wife- Nobuo Mai; 58; Deceased; killed by the Kyūbi while evacuating.  
>Mother- 28; Deceased; Jōnin; Killed on a mission that went wrong.<br>Father- 32; Deceased; Civilian; Drank himself to death when Kuro was young after his  
>wife died.<strong>_

_**Personality/Background: **_

_**Kuro's father and mother died when he was young, making him an orphan. He doesn't remember much about them. **_

_**Kuro had been somewhat of a troublemaking kid. **_

_**When he grew up and married his wife he became very protective of her. She was his sunshine. They had been childhood friends, growing up together in an orphanage, and he came to love her more than anything. She was the only girl he had ever met that was more of a handful than he was and she never let him, for one moment, believe he was better than she because he was a boy and she was a girl.**_

_**After they were married, he and his wife tried to conceive a baby as they wanted something they never really had: a family. However, after much heartache, they had to accept the fact they never would conceive, so they stopped trying. Much to their surprise, however, his wife became pregnant at the age of 47. They were so happy to learn this. They knew that pregnancies at that age could be difficult, but they believed it would turn out alright. **_

_**However, unbeknownst to them both, his wife's pregnancy was not normal. Her age had led to complications. The baby was not growing in the womb where it was supposed to be, but in the fallopian tube (Ectopic Pregnancy). The fallopian tube ruptured and his wife almost died because of it. Their unborn baby did not survive and they were unable to conceive ever again. Kuro's wife had secretly always blamed herself because of it. Kuro never once blamed her, however. **_

_**Because of the fact that they were unable to have children, they decided to open up an orphanage in order to care for all for the children who had lost their parents. They became one of the most reputable orphanages in the village as they cared for the children as if they were their own.**_

_**After the Kyūbi attacked, however, he changed. His wife was killed during it, and he ended up turning to what he swore he never would: alcohol. **_

_**He, just as his father had when his wife died on a mission, became an alcoholic. **_

_**During The Kyūbi's Attack:**_

_**When the Kyūbi had attacked, Kuro and his wife had taken it upon themselves to make sure every child in the orphanage had been evacuated before they even tried to leave. When they finally were ready, they rushed from the Orphanage just in time. One of the Kyūbi's tails crashed into the building as soon as they exited. Had they continued on, they both would have lived. **_

_**However, right before they ran to the shelter, a scream pierced the air. A child was trapped inside of the now burning building. **_

_**Before he could stop her (he wouldn't have been able to anyway, as his leg was broken at the time of the attack from an unrelated fall down the stairs), his wife rushed back in to save the child. **_

_**That was the last time he ever saw his wife alive.**_

_**Almost seconds after she entered the building, a second tail from the Kyūbi completely crushed the building, killing his wife and the child she tried to save. **_

_**After The Attack: **_

_**Because of their Orphanage's reputation, The Fourth Hokage had left Hinata, the Jinchūriki, in his care. He didn't want to accept her, but had no other choice as it was the Fourth Hokage who asked him to. **_

_**Though he was reluctant to do so, he agreed to take her in as his wife would have wanted him too. **_

_**At first Kuro tried to not hate her, but because of his drinking problem he just couldn't do it. He wasn't a ninja and had trouble understanding what a seal meant; he had trouble distinguishing the Kyūbi from Hinata and, in the end, took out his frustrations on her. It also didn't help the fact that he suffered from untreated posttraumatic stress disorder after the attack. **_

_**He loved his wife more than anything, and was absolutely crushed when she fell during the attack. **_

_**Subconsciously, however, he knew he didn't want her dead and didn't do anything to her that would lead to her death. **_

_**When the elder's came into contact with him, he had agreed to help them, though they had a bit of difficulty getting him to do so. They had thought it would be easy as he was intoxicated when they went to him, however, he surprised them when he told them no, he would not do it. He made Hinata suffer, yes, but he could not wrap his mind around the idea of having her killed off. **_

_**Eventually he agreed, but only after the elder's had placed a Genjutsu over him. **_

_**He stood no chance against the Genjutsu as he was a civilian.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Name:<strong>__** Dai Takeshi (Takeshi Dai)**_

_**Age:**__** 23 **_

_**Academy Graduation Age:**__** 12**_

_**Chūnin Promotion Age:**__** 14 **_

_**Family:**_

_**Mother- 45; Deceased; Home maker; Killed during Kyūbi attack.  
>Father- 47; Deceased; sickly and handicapped. Used to be a ninja, but was forced to retire after being critically injured; Killed during Kyūbi attack.<br>Brother- 8 Months; Deceased; Killed during Kyūbi attack.  
>Sister- 4; Deceased; Killed during Kyūbi attack.<br>Sister- 4; Deceased; Killed during Kyūbi attack.  
>Brother- 8; Deceased (had just entered ninja academy); Killed during Kyūbi attack.<br>Twin Brother- Dai Akihiko; 16; Deceased; Older of the two by  
>five minutes; Chūnin (promotion age was the same as Takeshi); Killed during Kyūbi<br>attack.**_

_**Personality/Background:**_

_**Before the attack, he had a shy personality. His twin, Akihiko, was the outgoing one, while he was the quiet one. He had a deep love and respect for his whole family, especially his brother. They were identical twins and had a very close bond with one another. He looked up to and admired his twin more than anyone.**_

_**He and Akihiko entered the academy together in order to become ninja so they could help support their mother and father after their father's accident. They knew how hard they had to work to support their big family and wanted to be able to help.**_

_**Day Kyūbi Attacked:**_

_**Takeshi and his twin brother were taking their family to the civilian evacuation center, when the Kyūbi crashed into the wall of the village (they lived on the outskirt of the village, and were close to the village perimeter when the Kyūbi attack started). Almost everyone was crushed by the debris, including Takeshi. Takeshi survived, but couldn't free himself, and had suffered severe trauma to the head. Takeshi's twin brother, Akihiko, was the only one who hadn't been crushed and he refused to run even when Takeshi yelled for him too. **_

_**Akihiko told Takeshi that he would never abandon him, no matter what, even if it meant he would lose his life in the process.**_

_**Takeshi could do nothing as he watched in horror as one of the Kyūbi's tails came crashing down on his twin brother, severing his body in two, killing him instantly.**_

_**Witnessing the death of Akihiko changed his life forever. **_

_**After The Attack:**_

_**After the Kyūbi's attack he became cold and developed a deep hatred for the Jinchūriki. He couldn't see them as different beings, and he never tried to. **_

_**It took Takeshi months for his injuries to heal. During that time, he became dependent on the narcotic pain medications he was prescribed. **_

_**Not only that, but his head injury never fully healed. He never made Jōnin because of it, and was put on inactive duty because his mental state was questionable. No one realized just how bad it was, however. **_

_**Over the years, because of the drug abuse and old head injury, he lost more and more of his sanity, often seeing his brother who blamed him for his and their family's deaths. **_

_**He burned his family home down under the influence of the drugs, hoping it would force the voice of his brother to stop. It only made it worse, though.**_

_**He was fined for the fire, but nothing much more was done as 1) no one had been hurt/the surrounding area wasn't too badly damaged, and 2) they believed it had been an accident while he was under the influence of drugs. That was when he was taken off of active duty, however. He was 18.**_

_**After the fire, Takeshi was forced to undergo treatment for his addiction. After a few months of drug therapy, he was deemed completely clean and was released. **_

_**However, once he finished rehab he soon went back to using drugs, this time, however, he was not caught.**_

_**He had become quite skilled at hiding his drug addiction ever since. **_

_**Around When Hinata Was Attacked:**_

_**Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura knew of Takeshi's hatred for the Kyūbi, and knew that he would like nothing more than to kill her. They didn't realize just how bad he wanted her to suffer, however, and thought that he would be happy with just disposing of her. They also didn't realize he had continued his addiction after finishing his rehab. They believed he was clean. **_

_**They asked him if he wanted to take the mission and he agreed. He didn't realize it, but the two elders were planning on having him killed afterwards to cover their tracks. **_

_**After he agreed, they sealed his tongue and mind and sent him to do the job. **_

_**When he attacked Hinata he was supposed to assassinate her while she was asleep (drugged with a non-traceable substance), making it look like an accident. **_

_**He had disobeyed them, however, and decided to do it his own way. He had been taking more pain medicine than normally as it was the anniversary of his family's death. Not only that, but he had also consumed much alcohol the night he was supposed to finish the mission. That mixed with his drug use, led to him torturing Hinata.**_


	3. The Plan

_**How Things Change:**__**  
>Chapter II~ The Plan<strong>_

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><p>A little under a week had passed since Hinata was admitted to the hospital, and it was on that day that she was to be awoken from her drug induced sleep.<p>

Dai Takeshi, the one who had attacked her, had been discovered nearly dead in his cell a few days previous and there was no evidence to prove who left him for dead. Whoever attacked him was extremely careful to not leave a trail.

After being discovered, Takeshi was rushed to the ER and it was there he was pronounced dead. The medics tried to save him, but their attempt had been futile.

Or, at least, that's what most believed. The truth was that, after he was taken into the hospital for emergency treatment, a powerful Genjutsu was placed over the doctors who treated him to make them believe he was dead. After that, Takeshi was removed from the hospital to have his body cremated (as that was what was done to all deceased ninja)…only the body put in the fire was a fake. Takeshi was actually hidden away, on life support so that Minato and Kushina could try and reverse the effects of the seal Takeshi had placed on him.

Minato and Kushina knew this would be the best thing to do with him as, if the elders knew he was alive, they were likely to have him killed off to hide any involvement they had in the attack of Hinata.

They knew this was the case because Nobuo Kuro had barely escaped death. He was lucky that Maito Gai was the one guarding him on the night he was attacked.

No one figured out who attacked him, but Gai was able to chase him away. After that, Kuro was taken into protective custody and he was always under strict surveillance; no one would touch him. He was one of the pieces to the puzzle that needed solving and Minato wasn't going to allow anyone to kill him.

He possessed no training of a ninja and it was unlikely he could have survived against an attack by a ninja like Takeshi had. Plus, they planned to use him as one of the witnesses whenever they had enough evidence to go against the two elders of the village. They didn't believe it would be too hard to convince him to. For the last week, Nobuo Kuro had been a complete wreck as he genuinely felt guilty for what he had done. He told them he didn't know what went over him, and begged forgiveness for his crimes.

Because of Inoichi evaluation, Minato believed that Kuro was not at fault for Hinata's abduction; however that didn't mean he was going to go unpunished. While it was true that he was not at fault for Hinata's attack, the fact of the matter remained that, for years, he neglected Hinata. Until the trial, he was to remain unharmed, but that didn't mean he was not going to be punished; his imprisonment was going to be far from being cozy. He was also going to finally get the psychiatric help he needed whether he liked it or not.

And if he proved helpful in Hinata's case against Koharu and Homura, Minato had every intention of letting him go (once Inoichi declared him fit for society, that is).

Nothing too horrible was done to him as he was only a civilian, but Genjutsu was to be used against him. Nothing too horrible was shown to him, as they didn't want him to go crazy from the illusions. All they wanted him to be was uncomfortable.

They also wanted him to fully regret ever hurting Hinata.

The Genjutsu placed on him, Minato hoped, would help him see the error in his ways and allow him to repent for what he had done to Hinata for all those years she was in his care.

They could have done something similar to keep Dai Takeshi safe, but after he had attacked Hinata like he had, he was lucky to even be breathing still. Had they not needed him alive, he would have been dead as soon as they found out what he had done. He did not deserve life at all after torturing Hinata as he had even if he wasn't in his right mind when he had done it, and they weren't going to tell Hinata that her tormentor was still alive, either.

To everyone but a very select few, he was dead to the world. And Hinata was going to be among the number who thought him dead. No one wanted her to be worried that he had any possibility of escaping and finding her, again.

Before Hinata was to be woken up, however, Minato and Kushina wanted to check her mental state of mind. They were worried about her, and wanted to know just what it would take to help Hinata get through what she had suffered from. They hoped she wasn't put through so much that she lost all trust in people; not everyone in the world was like the man who attacked her and they hoped she could still see that there were good people in the world.

In order to help figure out just what she was feeling, Minato decided he would call in Yamanaka Inoichi once more. He believed the easiest way to figure it out was to have someone enter her mind, and he would be the perfect candidate. Not only was he the best of his clan, but he was also the only one Minato and Kushina would trust fully to complete the task.

Minato sighed as he sent the messenger bird out to Inoichi.

"I hope he can find something useful…"

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Yamanaka Inoichi had arrived to Hinata's room as soon as he was summoned and could not help but feel a bit depressed. When he had entered Takeshi's mind he was able to see exactly what was done to the girl, and this time he was likely to see it from Hinata's viewpoint. It was horrible seeing it in Takeshi's head, but it would be unbearable seeing it from Hinata's. He, however, knew that it was something that needed to be done, and it would be best if it was done as soon as possible.<p>

Kushina sat next to Hinata's bed holding her hand, and Minato was behind his wife with his hand on her shoulder when Inoichi arrived.

Minato turned and greeted the ninja.

"Hello, Inoichi. How are you feeling?"

Inoichi sighed and shook his head.

"Not very well, Hokage-sama. I've been having nightmares about what I saw in Takeshi's head…I can't help but think 'what if it was Ino that went through it?' I don't know what I'd do if my little girl experienced what Hinata had."

Minato nodded his head and said, "I had a feeling something like this would happen to you. And, seeing it in Hinata's point of view isn't likely to do anything but make those feelings worse. I'm sorry I am having you do this for me, Inoichi."

"I understand why it is you want me to do it, Hokage-sama, so you don't have any reason to apologize. I too want to help this girl as much as I can. She never deserved any of what happened to her." Inoichi replied.

Minato turned to Hinata and frowned sadly.

"I wish I had protected her better. I should have fought harder to see her more, but I didn't, and it's what I regret the most now in life. I was only able to see her once a month and I believed she had been being taken care of. I knew the caretaker distanced himself a bit from her, but whenever I was there she looked fine, albeit a bit shy and withdrawn. Neither she nor any of the other children spoke about what she really went through there, and I mistakenly assumed it meant everything was fine. I would have never let her stay there had I known she was being neglected." He sighed. "I guess this is what I get for thinking the best in people…"

Inoichi shook his head. "Don't think that way, Hokage-sama. It's not healthy to always see the bad in people. That's all you'll ever see if you do."

Minato nodded and replied, "Yeah, I guess…but I should have noticed something was up. There were small signs—like the caretaker distancing himself—but I guess I overlooked them at the time. I wanted to believe everything was fine with her; I didn't want to believe she wasn't being cared for properly. It's only now that I realized I was wrong for overlooking those signs. I should have watched her more, perhaps even assigned someone to guard and watch out for her safety in secret…but I didn't. I should have, but I didn't. I failed her."

Kushina looked up, finally deciding to speak up. "_We_ failed her Minato; I'm just as much to blame."

Inoichi sighed.

He understood the feeling of failure. He was one of the head interrogators in the village, and, while he was great at his job, he wasn't perfect. Nobody could hope to be perfect. He had made mistakes, caused people to die who shouldn't have because he had gotten information wrong. There had also been times when he had not been able to get the information he needed soon enough and had to look into the eyes of someone, who had put their trust into him, and tell them that he was too slow to help…

Mentioning that would be of little help, however.

"So many ninja had died for the village on that night, would you have even been able to assign someone the task of protecting her?" Inoichi responded.

Inoichi was right. It was chaos after the attack and all ninja were expected to help, whether it was with repairs or missions. Genin, who never should have been assigned anything higher than a C-rank, were sent out on missions that Chūnin or Jōnin would have been assigned because many of the higher ranked ninja lost their lives during the attack.

At the time, Minato would not have been able to assign someone to watch over Hinata, as the village needed all the help it could get. As leader, he needed to put the village first. He needed to protect everyone in the village and that meant he couldn't just focus all of his energy on one girl. As leader he needed to make hard decisions—decisions he sometimes would forget—for the sake of the village. It was a harsh reality, but it was true.

"I don't know, maybe not." Minato said, even though he knew the answer. "But it doesn't matter; I could have still done more to help keep her safe."

Inoichi lowered his head and kept quiet, not sure what else he could say. His last attempt hadn't done much in helping the Hokage.

Kushina listened to her husband speak and tears started to leak from her eyes. She felt just as he did, she had failed Hinata. She had failed her sister's daughter. Hinata was going to always have the memory of what happened to her in her head; she would never be able to out run it. She could try burying it deep within her subconscious and ignore it, but, sooner or later, she would have to deal with it. Kushina hoped Hinata would forgive her, but she also felt like she shouldn't…did she really deserve such forgiveness?

Hinata, barely seven years old, had suffered from one of the worse things imaginable. Kushina felt that if she had arrived sooner to the orphanage, then maybe she wouldn't have suffered. Kushina hoped with all of her heart that Hinata could overcome the memory…she was likely to never fully recover from it, but she hoped that the memory wouldn't overcome her. If she shut herself off completely from others, then she might never be able to form the bonds she should with people.

She could quite possibly hate them all, and that would not be healthy for her. The memory of what happened could cause her to go insane, and Kushina was afraid for, not only Hinata's safety, but others as well. She knew the fox within Hinata was probably whispering to her, Seiko had told Kushina that it did her. The fox would do anything to escape and, with Hinata at such a fragile state of mind, it might actually get its chance at freedom. And, if that happened, Hinata would become the very thing that the villagers were afraid of. The very thing they all expected her to become.

The very thing they all helped create.

Kushina took a deep breath and brushed her tears away. She would not let that happen to Hinata. Somehow, someway she was going to help save her from going down that dark bath. Kushina looked to her husband with unwavering courage in her eyes as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"We're not going to make that mistake again. We're going to be here for Hinata from this point onward, and no one will get in our way!" She looked to the sleeping girl. "Come hell or high water, we'll be there for her—dattebane!"

Minato grew strength from the look in his wife's eyes, and he couldn't help but smile a bit at her verbal tic.

"You're right, Kushina. This time it will be different." He then laughed. "And if you keep doing that, you know Naruto will pick up on it. I think he already has."

Kushina blushed in embarrassment and slapped her husband on the chest lightly. "Oh, be quiet you."

She couldn't help but smile, also, however. She felt as if things were going to be alright now.

Inoichi was happy to see that he wasn't needed to cheer up the Hokage, after all; his wife had done it just fine on her own.

He too had seen the look in her eyes; the reason Kushina was such a feared Kunoichi was because of the fact that she held such powerful determination. If she put her mind to something, like she just had, then it was more than likely going to happen. She never gave up as it went against her Nindō, her ninja way.

Inoichi, growing strength from her, knew he would try his best when entering Hinata's mind. He would help the girl, no matter how horrible it would be to see everything from her point of view.

Inoichi clenched his fist tightly and said, "I'm ready to begin Kushina-sama, Hokage-sama."

Kushina frowned at that honorific added to her name but didn't comment on it, instead she said, "Would you prefer to do this alone, or would you like us here?"

"I think it'd be best if I did this alone. I usually work better that way when it comes to entering a person's consciousness."

Kushina nodded and turned to her husband. "We did have a few things to take care of…now would be the perfect time to do so."

Minato nodded at his wife and grew serious once more. "You're right, it would be."

Together Minato and Kushina left the hospital room so Inoichi could do his job.

The atmosphere had lightened a bit at the end of the meeting, but as soon as the door closed behind the two ninja, and Inoichi looked to Hinata, he couldn't help but feel a cloud of despair wrap around him. He was going to try his best to help the girl, he swore he would, but it was still going to be horrible witnessing what she had done to her for a second time.

Inoichi sighed as he made his way over to the sleeping girl; it was going to be a very long couple of hours.

'_I hope I succeed…'_

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><p>.<p>

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><p>While the Hokage and Kushina were meeting with Yamanaka Inoichi, an elderly woman paced back and forth within the small confines of her office. This woman was very angry, but also a bit fearful, as she had a lot to think about, and didn't know just how much time she'd have to do so.<p>

She was in deep shit, to put it bluntly. Very deep shit.

'_That worthless man…!'_ Was the current thought that ran through the head of Utatane Koharu, elder of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"If I ever get the chance to get my hands on him, he'll wish he were dead…" She threatened under her breath while she paced.

Normally Koharu was a woman with nothing to be worried about—being one of the most powerful people in the village (second only to the Hokage and his wife) tended to do that to that to a person—but that had all changed when she made the worse mistake of her life. No matter how many guards she had protecting her, if she wasn't able to figure a way out of it, it was likely to turn deadly for her.

A few days had passed since the incident that had happened regarding Nobuo Kuro, and it was because of what had happened that caused Koharu to become the way she was at that moment.

She had been worried after what had happened with Hinata, but she thought she could fix it once the death of Dai Takeshi had become public. She had thought that she could easily kill off the final man who had put her at risk.

But that wasn't going to happen now, not with how heavily guarded he was.

The reason Nobuo Kuro had been guarded so heavily as of late was because of the fact that he had been attacked, and his attacker had escaped, if only just barely. He was attacked because Koharu thought it'd be best to take him out. She, having no other alternative, went to Shimura Danzō and requested his best man to complete the job.

She had hinted that if he did not, she would tell the Hokage all about his secret dealings in Root.

He knew it was a lie, however. He knew she would not rat him out, which is why he agreed to _help_ her.

Koharu knew Danzō had not, and would likely never, forgive her for what she had done, but he had agreed to help her nonetheless. He had given Koharu the man who he said was his prized pupil to take care of the old man, but Danzō had turned out to be deceitful. Koharu thought it was strange that he'd help her out so easily, but had no other choice but to accept it.

However, it didn't take Koharu long before she realized why she felt suspicious of Danzō.

The man Danzō had given her had failed, and would have been captured if it weren't for the fact that Maito Gai didn't think it a good idea to go after him and leave Kuro completely unguarded. And she believed this is exactly what Danzō had wanted. She believed he wanted his man to fail, but to still escape to be properly disposed of.

Shimura Danzō was also an advisor of the village, but he had not agreed with the attempted assassination of the village's Jinchūriki. He wanted to recruit the girl into his secret project Root, but Koharu and her old teammate Mitokado Homura had dismissed the idea. She was too much of a risk to the village, they believed. They knew she wasn't the Kyūbi incarnate, and they felt it pretty stupid of others in the village to believe she was, but they still thought she would be more of a liability to the village than anything. So, without Danzō's knowledge or approval, they had attempted an assassination of the girl.

Koharu and Homura always put the village's safety first, and they believe Hinata was a risk. She was a safety hazard and she needed to be taken care of before the village was hurt.

Koharu and Homura suspected that the Uchiha clan had something to do with the fox's attack and they did not trust them. If they killed Hinata, they believed, it would kill the fox and destroy the only weapon the Uchiha could use against them. It would keep them safe, for a while anyway.

Hinata was disposable and her death was necessary to save the village.

But it hadn't gone as planned much to Koharu's and Homura's dismay.

The man that they had hired for the job had been someone they knew would feel no empathy toward the girl who he was sent to kill, but he had not followed their orders.

They told him he was to kill her immediately, making it look like a terrible accident. But he had not. He had wasted time when he attacked her, and had tortured her needlessly.

Koharu knew she should never have trusted him to get the job done…

They had wanted her dead, but that was unlikely to happen now after the attack; she, just like Nobuo Kuro, would be protected heavily. If Dai Takeshi hadn't been killed already, probably by someone the Hokage had hired, Koharu would have killed him herself. She hated it when people didn't follow their orders, and she especially hated Takeshi for not fulfilling his and putting her and her only friend in danger.

And now, because of Danzō, she and Homura were truly at risk—Nobuo Kuro needed to die just as Takeshi had. He had been the last piece that connected them to the attempted murder (other than Takeshi, who was already dead, and Danzō, who wouldn't openly rat them out). Even though Kuro had been sealed, they were unsure if the Hokage or Kushina, who excelled at sealing techniques, could remove and possibly reverse the effects of the seal. Homura and Koharu didn't excel at sealing techniques like the Hokage and his wife did, but they were decent at them; they had based the seal they placed on Kuro and Takeshi off of the one Danzō placed on his Root subjects, with a few modifications, but they were unsure of how long it would keep the two best seal masters in the village at bay.

She was also unsure if they'd be able to catch the Genjutsu she had used on Kuro to get him to agree with the plan…

After the assassination plot had been completed, they had planned to have both Takeshi and Kuro killed, just to make sure nothing of the truth would get out, but Takeshi had ruined it when he had failed to dispose of Hinata like he was ordered to. And it was because of that that they had to go to Danzō for help. They needed someone to take care of Kuro, someone who could disappear without suspicion, and what would be better than someone who wasn't supposed to exist?

So, after talking it over Danzō agreed to help them, although, a bit too easily. The ninja he sent to them, they were told, was the best of the best and that he could easily get the job done. Koharu and Homura, who had little choice, had to take his word for it and sent the shinobi to kill Kuro after they found out about Takeshi's expected demise.

However, the man he had given them had failed, and had barely escaped the encounter. And Koharu believed it had been intentional. She believed Danzō was trying to get back at her and Homura for the assassination attempt for Hinata. It was his own way of punishing them for going against his will. It was not, they soon realized, a good idea to double cross the third elder of the village, and they were likely to pay for doing so.

"That Bastard," Koharu muttered to herself as she paced her own office. "How dare he do that to us!"

Koharu couldn't even get revenge on him without risking herself even further. If she so much as whispered his secret dealings in Root, he would confess everything to the Hokage.

The only reason he kept quiet now was because he'd rather not let the Hokage know about Root, but if it came out because of Homura and Koharu, he would not hesitate to confess their involvement in Hinata's attempted murder. And, if the Hokage ever had enough evidence to prove who the culprits were, Danzō would have more than enough time to cover up his involvement in Root.

Danzō was safe, and he knew it.

He had refused to help in the assassination.

Danzō hadn't even known that Homura and Koharu had already had everything planned out for it when they went to him. They lied to him after they found out he wanted no role in it, telling him they weren't going to do anything just yet. They even lied to him about trying to find a way to get Hinata into Root for him. And it was only now, after the fact that they realized they had obviously made a huge mistake when they went behind the back of the third elder of the village. The only involvement he had was likely to have already been killed. Root, to almost everyone, didn't exist, so neither did the man that had attacked Nobuo Kuro. And, if he had already been disposed of, there wouldn't be any hope in tracking that man back to Danzō.

Koharu and Homura's lives, unlike Danzō's, were at risk.

And, that is exactly why Utatane Koharu wished the painful death of Shimura Danzō.

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><p>Minato and Kushina made their way toward the Hokage Tower after leaving the hospital room that belonged to Hinata. They wanted to hurry up with the next phase of their plan, and, in order to do so, needed to get some paperwork signed. Normally what they were trying to do took a few weeks to complete, but, because they were stressed for time, they had the forms written up within the week. It just needed a few signatures, Minato's included. They would also need Kakashi's and Hiashi's help with their plan, and had sent messenger birds to the Jōnin and Clan Head to meet them in Minato's office as soon as possible.<p>

Kushina looked to her husband and sighed. "So, do you think he will do it? It's quite a bit to ask from him, you know."

"I know." Minato then smiled to his wife. "But you've seen how protective he's gotten of Hinata. I'm sure he'll agree to do it, even if he is a bit reserved to do so."

Kushina nodded then asked, "But, do you think he can handle it? It's not the sort of task we usually ask for him to complete. He doesn't really have much knowledge in this field and you know it."

Minato let out a small chuckle.

"You're right, Kushina, it's not what he is used to doing. It'll be a whole new experience for him. And his current training hasn't really gotten him ready for what we're asking of him." Minato paused a moment and then continued. "But, he was my student and I know how hard of a worker he is. I also consider him a friend, and I'd trust him with my life without a second thought. I think he'll be able to handle it…it will just take a bit of getting use to at first."

Kushina smiled feeling reassured. "Don't let him hear you say that, it will go straight to his head."

Minato smiled.

"I don't need to tell him, he already knows," After a moment, he continued. "Anyways, I wasn't really ready for it, either, but I've done an okay job…and he was trained by the best, so I doubt it will be too hard to get the hang of, right?"

Kushina lowered her head into her own palms as she said, "Oh, God…we're screwed."

Minato pouted at his wife in the most dramatic way possible and whined, "You don't really mean that, do you?"

Kushina looked up from her palm and winked, "You'll never know, now will you?"

She then turned from her husband and concentrated chakra to her feet and ran toward the Hokage Tower at full speed.

Minato followed close behind. He was going to get her to tell him the truth.

Minato was the first to arrive at the Hokage Tower as he wasn't called the Yellow Flash for no reason; Kushina was quick, but not even she could beat him when it came to speed. Kushina could beat Minato when it came to raw power because of her special chakra, but when it came to speed Minato won hands down.

Kushina arrived a few seconds later with a pout on her face. "You always win."

Minato smiled. "I know…now tell me, am I really that bad?"

Kushina sighed as she smiled. "No, I guess not."

Minato's smile widened. "Haha, that's what I thought!"

"Liar, you should have seen your face…it was kind of ridiculous, actually." Kushina stated as she walked into the tower toward her Husband's office.

Minato followed behind, but not before sticking his tongue out at her in a very childish, un-Hokage like fashion.

Kushina pretended not to notice, and just rolled her eyes in amusement.

When Minato and Kushina made it to the office, their carefree attitudes disappeared almost instantly. Hyūga Hiashi and Hatake Kakashi were standing in front of the door, waiting for them to arrive. It was time to get down to business.

"I see you both beat us here, sorry about being late to our own meeting." Minato stated.

"No need to worry, Hokage-sama." Hiashi said; and by the way he said it, Minato knew he was still not forgiven for keeping him in the dark for so long. "What is it I can do for you?"

Minato opened his office and told them to get comfortable, and then he closed the doors. "We have the paper work drawn up, and we just need you to sign it."

Hiashi nodded then looked to Kakashi for a moment. "So I take it this was the man you were referring to before?"

Minato nodded. "It is, and I take it you will have no problems with it?"

Hiashi thought for a moment. "I have no complaints. I've heard a great deal about Hatake-san, I know he could more than handle what will be required of him. He is one of the best Jōnin of the village, after all."

"Then all we need from you is your signature."

Hiashi nodded his head and grabbed the pen and pack of papers he was offered and began to go through and sign and initial all of the places he had to.

As this was happening, Kakashi turned to his mentor. "What's going on, Minato-sensei?"

"You haven't told him?" Hiashi raised his eyebrows in surprise as he handed the papers back to Kushina.

Minato shook his head. "I wanted to know what you would say first." He then looked to his former student. "I guess I should explain now, huh?"

Hiashi stood, his eyes narrowed at Minato. "Yes, Hokage-sama, it would be wise to do that. I have to get back to my clan, now, however; they'll ask questions if I am gone too long as I told them I was merely going out for a short stroll around the village like I do on occasion. I hope everything goes as planned."

He would be extremely angry if it didn't as he believed the Hokage should have explained it to the man who was going to have the biggest role in what had been decided. Hiashi turned from the Hokage and left the room without another word.

It would be a while before he forgave them.

"He is so cold…" Kushina whispered.

Minato turned to his wife. "Can you really blame him?"

Kushina shook her head and as she did, Kakashi asked, "What is it you have to explain to me?"

He was very curious as to what kind of mission he was being assigned to. If it involved the Hyūga clan head, he assumed it was important. His wife had recently given birth to an heiress, so he wondered if it was going to involve guard duty. He hoped that wasn't it as there was only so much babysitting he could handle.

Minato sat behind his desk and sighed. "I have an extended mission that I wish to assign to you. It's A-ranked, but it probably won't be anything you're used to doing. And it's unlikely you'll run into enemy ninja while completing it."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow in confusion. "Why is it such a high ranked mission, then?"

"Because it involves Hinata." Minato replied calmly.

Kakashi nodded; he was relieved he didn't have to watch over a baby not yet one year old. But what did Hiashi have to do with it?

"Do you want me to guard her from the shadows?"

"Not quite…but before I explain what I would like for you to do, I have few questions I would like to ask." Minato said to his former pupil.

"What would you like to know, Minato-sensei?"

"How do you feel about Hinata?" Minato replied.

Kakashi answered almost instantly. "I don't hate her, and I do not wish any harm to come of her, if that's what you're getting at."

He felt as if that was what he was being accused of and he felt a bit betrayed by his former teacher for asking him such a question.

Minato shook his head. "I already can see you don't hate her, Kakashi. I just would like to know what you think of her."

Kakashi thought a moment before he answered. "Hmm, I don't really know her all that well. I've only ever seen her a couple of times, and that was when she was with either you or Kushina. I don't really understand why she is treated the way she is even if she is a Jinchūriki. If anyone were to look at her for who she was as a person, and not as if she were the demon she kept prisoner, they'd realize she was never one to be afraid of. From what I've seen, she is actually a polite young lady, and she seemed pretty shy, too."

Minato nodded in understanding. "Well, that answers my first question. Now for my second question…why were you so quick in volunteering to watch over Hinata while she was in the hospital?"

"I promised not to let anything happen to her, Minato-sensei." Kakashi answered simply.

Minato was a bit surprised by that. "When did you promise her that?"

Kakashi sighed. "I promised her that when I found her. I couldn't stand seeing her, just a little girl, in so much pain. I couldn't stand the fact that anyone would be so heartless to do that to her…especially someone who was sworn to protect the village and its people. So, after I knocked her attacker unconscious, I promised her I wouldn't let anything else happen to her."

Kakashi closed his visible eye as he thought about what he had seen. It was a horrible sight; even for him…it reminded him of all the children he had seen suffer from horrible wounds during the fox's attack of the village seven year ago. It being on the anniversary of the attack hadn't helped any. The man that had attacked Hinata was more of a demon than Hinata would ever be.

Minato rested his chin in his hand as he spoke. "Even after she is released from the hospital, would that promise still hold true, Kakashi?"

Kakashi opened his eye and shrugged slightly. "I guess it depends, Minato-sensei. I am a member of ANBU, so it is likely for my services to be needed outside of the village. If I was in the village, and I wasn't too busy with my own assignments, then yes the promise would still hold true."

"That's good to hear." Minato stated with a smile.

"Why is it good to hear, Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"It's good to hear because I know you were indeed the right person for this assignment." Minato replied.

"And just what is the assignment?" Kakashi asked in anticipation.

"I do want you to watch over Hinata, Kakashi, but it will be in a different way than you would expect. Also, in order to complete this task, I am removing you from active duty." Minato said, wondering just how Kakashi would take that bit of news.

If it weren't for Kakashi's mask, Minato and Kushina would have seen his mouth fall open.

"You can't be serious…"

"I am completely serious, Kakashi." Minato stated with authority, his tone telling Kakashi he would follow this order whether he liked it or not. "Kushina and I believe this mission to be very important and we hope you agree to participate in it without me having to force you to."

"You know I would take any mission you assigned to me." Kakashi said as he clenched his teeth; the thought of being taken off of active duty kind of irked him.

The only thing he had ever known really was being an active shinobi. If that got taken away, what else would he do?

Minato noticed how tense Kakashi was getting and sighed. "I am sorry for forcing this upon you, Kakashi. I really am. But I cannot let something like this happen again to Hinata, I hope you understand."

Kakashi took a deep breath and released it slowly to calm himself. "I understand, Minato-sensei. I don't wish for Hinata to go through something like that again, either." Kakashi thought for a moment. "You mentioned that I would be watching over Hinata, but not in the way I would expect…just what did you mean by that?"

"What I mean…" Minato started. "Actually, I think you'll get it as soon as I give you these forms to sign."

Minato nodded to Kushina who in turn stepped forward to Kakashi and handed him a pack of papers and a pen.

"Just sign in all the spaces provided for you, Kakashi. Anything that is marked 'Hokage Authorization Signature' you can and should leave blank." Kushina stated softly.

She felt a bit guilty for forcing the man into doing this.

Kakashi grabbed the papers and looked at them already guessing what they were.

"These aren't what I think they are, are they?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

Minato rubbed the back of his head with a guilty grin plastered on his face. "Um, if you think they're adoption papers, then you would be correct."

"I was afraid of that." Kakashi muttered as he started to sign the forms.

'_Just what am I getting myself into?' _

_**End. **_


	4. The Awakening

_**How Things Change:**__**  
>Chapter III~ The Awakening<strong>_

* * *

><p>A few minutes and a stiff hand later, Kakashi had finished signing the adoption papers. He couldn't help but worry about what he was getting himself into, however. He didn't have much experience when it came to taking care of children, and wasn't sure how he would handle it. This wasn't the sort of job he was used to doing.<p>

He didn't have any younger siblings he ever had to take care of (not that he would have been able to, having been promoted to Chūnin at six), and the only time he was ever forced to watch over someone young was when he was on a mission, and in those time, said child's mother or father would be with him.

Kakashi was nervous.

What if he did something wrong?

What if he did more harm than good?

How could he be a father figure to someone so young when all he had ever been taught to do was to kill?

Kakashi shook his head to clear his mind.

'_Look at me, the great Copy Ninja of The Hidden Leaf, cowering in fear at a bit of babysitting…' _

He knew it was more than just a bit of babysitting, however, and that's just what scared him the most.

Taking a seat, he lowered his head into his hands.

"How am I supposed to handle this, Minato-sensei?"

'_Give me an S-rank mission to complete and I can handle it without batting an eyelash, give me a kid to take care of and I turn into a total wreck…I'm pathetic.'_

Minato smiled, though he knew Kakashi couldn't see it.

"It'll be alright, Kakashi. Kushina and I will be right here to help you."

And they would be. If Kakashi, Minato's former apprentice, were to become Hinata's legal guardian, then the elders of the village could no longer use the excuse that Kushina and Minato had no reason to show Hinata a bit of favoritism. They would have a reason for doing so now: Hinata would become Kakashi's, Minato's former student and best friend's, daughter. She would basically become family.

When Kakashi heard this, he began to calm down. He would believe in Minato to keep his word as he had no reason not to.

And as he calmed down he realized something. Something huge he had overlooked.

Looking up, he asked, "Minato-sensei…why was Hyūga Hiashi told to sign the forms as well?"

Kakashi could only think of one rational reason for it, but that couldn't possibly be why, could it?

There was a long explanation for this, he realized.

Minato frowned.

"I had a feeling you would ask this, so I guess I'll have to let you in on it as well. I probably should have a while ago, Kakashi. Don't think I kept this from you because I don't trust you, I just believed the fewer to know about it, the better…" Minato stood from behind his desk and looked out of the window that had the best view of the village. "The reason that I had Hiashi sign those documents as well is because Hinata is his illegitimate daughter."

Even though Kakashi had a feeling this would be the case, it still shocked him.

"How is that possible?"

"It's possible because Seiko had given birth to their daughter the night the fox attacked the village." Minato responded. "Seiko wanted to keep it from Hiashi because he was going to be getting married after she called their engagement off. He didn't know he had a daughter until a few days ago. If the Hyūga clan found out about her pregnancy, we were afraid of what would happen as Hinata was the love child of Seiko and Hiashi. Even though she is a bastard child, she is still Hiashi's first born and would have been next in line as clan head. They hated Seiko because she was not a Hyūga and they thought she was weak, and we believed that if they knew about Hinata their hatred would transfer to her, a "half breed" as they would call her. We were afraid the clan would try to seal her or worse if they knew about her. We were hoping Hinata would be born without the Byakugan as it would make hiding her from the Hyūga simpler, but that was not the case."

Kakashi nodded, understanding where they were coming from.

"However, there was another important reason we hid her pregnancy. It was also hidden from everyone because we didn't wish anyone to know she, not Kushina, was the Jinchūriki. Do you have any idea why we had to hide her pregnancy until after she gave birth, Kakashi?"

"I don't, Minato-sensei."

"I didn't think you would, it's not a commonly known fact…" He sighed. "The seal is at its weakest when a woman goes into labor, Kakashi. We—and by that I mean Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Kushina, and I— had taken Seiko out of the village in order for her to give birth in secret. We needed to be extra cautious when delivering her child, and we didn't want anyone to ask why. Her being pregnant was to be a surprise to everyone if all went according to plan, you see."

"But it didn't." Kakashi finished.

"You're right, it did not." Minato couldn't help but feel more depressed as he continued. "Seiko didn't want Kushina to help with the procedure as she felt Kushina would become too emotional, they were as close as any sisters after all. Seiko didn't even want Tsunade to help but she was the only fully qualified medical ninja that already knew of the secret we had been hiding, and she was also the only medical nin that Seiko trusted enough with delivering her child. So, instead of Kushina, I was put in charge of watching over the seal while Tsunade and Shizune were to deliver the baby. We were to do this while Jiraiya, Kushina, and the Third stood guard, but I couldn't keep the seal intact. The fox had begun to try to escape when it realized the seal had weakened. It had wanted its freedom and had every intention of getting it. I had failed at my job, but Tsunade had succeeded at hers. She had successfully delivered Seiko's child."

"And that child was Hinata." Kakashi whispered to himself.

"Yes, Hinata was Seiko's and Hiashi's first and only daughter."

Kakashi remained quiet while Minato finished the story.

"Before the fox escaped, Seiko told us Hinata was the only one suitable to contain the Kyūbi; she told us that only an Uzumaki could contain the demon and she also said that Kushina was too old for it to be sealed inside of her. After the fox got free, I fully intended on sealing the demon. However, Hiruzen refused to let me do the sealing and decided he would do it himself. Because Hinata is only half Uzumaki and because of his age, he had to summon the Shinigami in order to help seal the fox's chakra; only half of the Kyūbi's chakra was sealed inside of Hinata, and the other half into the death god.

"After the fox was sealed, it came to our attention that Hinata had inherited her father's Byakugan. When we realized this, we had decided to seal it away until she was strong enough to protect herself from her clan or, as I should say, former clan now. We had hid the fact that she was a Hyūga from almost everyone, Hiashi included. We didn't think she would be safe in that household, as I already explained. After that Kushina and I had tried to adopt her but the elders had kept us from doing so. After we had hid the fact that she was Seiko's daughter, we no longer had a reason to adopt her. The elders would have made sure the entire village knew that we favored Hinata, the one who had the beast who killed so many other children's parents inside of her, over everyone else.

"Not wanting to risk an uprising over that, we had put her into a very reputable orphanage and hoped everything would turn out alright. But, as you know, it had not. Whenever we visited Hinata we always thought she was being cared for. There were small signs to tell us that she had been getting neglected, but we ignored them. We didn't want to believe she wasn't getting the care she needed. I regret it more than anything now…I should have done something to help her, but I hadn't. I failed at protecting an innocent child."

Kushina, who had been listening silently, had her head lowered as she nodded. Her eyes once again began to fill with tears.

Kakashi bit his lip. Part of him wanted to tell Minato it was alright, but he knew it would have been lying. Minato and Kushina had both made a terrible mistake when they had done what they had done, and now Hinata was suffering for it. She didn't deserve any of it, and yet she had paid for their mistake.

Minato looked to Kakashi.

"Even you know I've done something terrible, Kakashi. I can see it." Minato smiled sadly. "I really am a horrible person, aren't I?"

"You're not a horrible person, Minato-sensei…" Kakashi let out a sigh of his own. "But I'm not going to lie. You and Kushina made a horrible mistake when it came to Hinata's safety, and now she has to suffer for it."

He wished he could tell them otherwise, but they would know he wasn't being truthful.

"We know this, and we swore not to make another mistake like this again. We are going to do everything in our power to keep Hinata safe from this point onward…I just wish we had done it sooner."

Kakashi nodded, and then a thought popped into his head, "Why is it you're having Hiashi sign over all of his rights to me? Couldn't we just pretend I've adopted her, that way she could take up the title of heiress at some point?"

Minato shook his head. "We think it will be safer this way. We want the adoption to be one hundred percent legal that way if the elders of the Hyūga clan ever found out about it before we want them too, she would be safe. Because, as of now, she is not a Hyūga, she is a Hatake. They would have no legal rights to touch a single hair on her head anymore because she no longer belongs to their clan. This would also save Hyūga Hanabi from ever receiving the cursed seal because she would still be the only one who could become leader of the clan. Hiashi signed all legal rights of Hinata over to you, so Hanabi is legally his only daughter." A small smile formed from Minato's lips. "I'm happy the clan has no laws passed regarding adoption. They've never had it happen before now, not outside of the clan, anyway. No one in the Hyūga clan had ever expected someone of the main house to sign over their rights of an unsealed child to an outsider and, even if it had been considered, no one had ever thought that their very own clan head would do so. What leader, after all, would be stupid enough to sign their parental rights over to an outsider?"

Kakashi nodded slowly.

"I can see why that helps with this, Minato-sensei," he shook his head. "But, whenever they find out Hinata is indeed a member of the main house, you know they'll try to fight it."

Minato's eyes narrowed which caused a shiver to run down Kakashi's back.

He always hated that look, it was frightening.

"I know they will, but they cannot stop this. As of right now, it is completely legal for Hiashi to do what he did. They may try to get a law passed in the future regarding adoption, but by then it will be too late to do anything as he did it when it wasn't illegal for him to do so." Minato sighed. "I know they won't back down without a fight, so a fight is exactly what I'll give them when the time comes."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, and then asked, "What am I to do about housing? I was only a year older than Hinata is when I moved into the ANBU barracks, but I, unlike her, was a trained shinobi. I don't know much about raising kids, but I do know that the barracks would _not_ be the ideal place to do so. I don't own any other property so what am I to do?"

Minato answered somberly as he held out a pair of keys before Kakashi. "That's not true, Kakashi..."

Kakashi bit his lip, realizing just what those keys unlocked. "I don't think I have the strength to move in there, Minato-sensei…I told you this before." The idea of living there was almost too much for him to handle. "I wanted you to give that place away to someone; I didn't even want money for it. I told you that."

"I could set you up in an apartment, Kakashi..." Minato sighed, "But I have no desire to do so. This place is already fully furnished and has everything you'd need to raise a child, and it even has its own private training area for your personal use, even if it is on the small side. This place would give you both far more privacy than the paper thin walls of an apartment."

Kakashi knew Minato was right, but that house held many bad memories…especially the master bedroom.

"Please, Kakashi, it's time for you to accept your inheritance. Normally I wouldn't force it on to you, as I can understand why it'd be painful to live there, but it would be the best place to raise Hinata. She'd be safe there. After your mother died, your father had set up many security seals to keep you safe so you wouldn't have to worry about a thing, really. And this house is just a few blocks from my own estate." Minato stated, trying to talk his friend into accepting it.

Kakashi sighed deeply; there was no getting out of it this time.

"I know you're right..." he said as he accepted the keys that his former sensei held out to him.

Minato smiled sadly, he knew how hard it was for him to agree to take them. "On the bright side, each bedroom has its own bathroom so you would each have some personal space."

Kakashi forced a smile under his mask, trying to find the good in the situation. He obviously already knew what amenities the house possessed, but he appreciated Minato for trying to help him feel better about it.

"Well, I guess that is something to look forward to…it has been years since I've had a bathroom to myself as there are only community ones in the barracks." Kakashi paused for a moment, and then asked, "Is there anything else I should know about this, Minato-sensei?"

He meant about the whole situation involving Hinata.

Minato answered, knowing exactly what he meant.

"Yes, there are two more things I'd like to tell you." Minato sighed once more. "The first is that someone else knew Seiko was the true Jinchūriki of the nine tailed fox."

Kakashi was surprised. "If this was such a heavily guarded secret, how could that be?"

"I don't know, Kakashi." Minato breathed. "And that isn't even the worst of it. Not only did that person know that Seiko was the Jinchūriki, but he also knew she was pregnant, and that the seal that kept the demon at bay would be at its weakest when she went into labor."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose. "Do you know who this person was?"

"I have no idea who it was. It was a masked man, or I assume it was a man, and a very powerful one at that. He had fought against Kushina, Jiraiya, and the Third all at once and hadn't been defeated. And, he also went up against me later that same night, and had put up more of a fight than I had thought he would, seeing as he had already fought against three of the most powerful shinobi of the village." Minato frowned. "He also had the power to control the Kyūbi."

This surprised Kakashi greatly.

"He was able to control the Kyūbi? The demon that is said to be the strongest of the tailed beasts?"

Minato nodded.

"Yes. Kushina and Seiko—if she were still alive— have a special chakra that allows them to hold the Kyūbi at bay, but not even they could have controlled the demon like that man had."

"Whoever he was," Minato continued, "He isn't someone to take lightly, and I do not doubt we will be seeing him again someday. I was able to chase him away, but I don't think that was the end of it. He wanted the fox, and I believe he will be back one day to try to get his hands on its power."

Kakashi let out a long sigh, "Things today just keep getting more and more complicated…"

Minato patted Kakashi's shoulder, "I know, Kakashi, I know. I'm sorry to do this to you, but it was the best way to go about what I wanted done. You probably feel like I am using you, and I guess in a way I am, but please realize I am only do this to protect Hinata, an innocent girl who has suffered more in her seven years of life than she ever should have. You are my best friend and I would trust no other person with this task, and you know that. I need you to help me, Kakashi. Please."

Kakashi nodded his head in understanding, "I won't let you down, Minato-sensei."

Minato smiled sadly, "I know you won't."

Minato turned away from Kakashi as a grimace passed across his face. "And I know this day is getting more and more stressful, but I do have one other thing to add to it. You have a right to know what it is you are getting into as it could become more dangerous for you." He sighed.

"The second thing I wanted you to know about is who I believe masterminded the attack on Hinata."

"You've got a lead, I take it?" Kakashi asked, interested.

Minato shook his head. "Not exactly, it's more of an educated guess…" He let out a long sigh. "I believe the people responsible for this attack are Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu."

Kakashi's stared at him in surprise at the news, "You believe it was the work of the elders?"

Minato nodded grimly, "I wish I didn't, but I do. They are the guilty ones, I am sure of it. At the moment I cannot prove it was them, but as soon as I can they will be severely punished. They will not get away with this. I am the Hokage of this village, and the only one who had any right to sanction an assassination mission would have been me. They will soon learn why you don't mess with the Yellow Flash of the Leaf!"

Minato's eyes became even colder than before. They were icy.

Kakashi always felt uneasy under his gaze; that cold, calculating look. That was the look of the man who had single handedly defeated an entire army of trained shinobi.

Kakashi shivered, and then asked, "What about Shimura Danzō? Why do you not suspect him?"

"I don't suspect Danzō because of the fact that he believes Hinata could be turned into a powerful weapon for the Leaf. I don't think he'd risk killing her off just yet, not when he wants her to be shaped into the most powerful tool imaginable. I would never allow for that to happen as I don't believe in using my shinobi that way, but I guess it's better for Danzō to think this way, at least, when it comes to Hinata's safety. He would not have agreed to having her killed—not until he was absolutely sure that she was useless to him, anyways—I am almost positive of that…" he sighed. "Koharu and Homura are different, however. From the very beginning they wanted Hinata to be killed. They believed she posed a threat to the village. They never wanted her to live past her first birthday. I know they put the safety of the village above all else, but this time they went too far."

Kakashi nodded. He never had much love for the elders, but he never believed them to be capable of doing such a horrible thing. He knew the task he was to complete would be more dangerous with them involved.

They held power, and had followers who agreed with them, and until Minato could hold them responsible for the crime they had committed, they still held that power, though, they were sure to be careful around the Hokage when using said power seeing as they knew Nobuo Kuro was still alive.

The mission might not be as dangerous as he had first thought, when he realized that.

"How long will it take for you to reverse the effects of the seals that were used on Dai Takeshi and Nobuo Kuro?"

He was one of the few who knew that Dai Takeshi was still alive.

"It's hard to say," Minato started. "They are pretty complex, and because of our duties to the village it could take quite a while, but I am sure that Kushina and I can handle them. No matter how many hours or years it takes, we will break the seals and punish the elders accordingly."

Kushina, who had been quiet for most of the meeting, nodded in agreement.

"The seals are quite complex like Minato said, and powerful too, but I am not a Fūinjutsu master for nothing. I've never come across a seal quite like this one, but I refuse to give up. I will figure out a way to crack this seal, and reverse its side effects, or my name isn't Uzumaki Kushina—ttebane!"

Minato smiled at his wife, and then he looked to Kakashi once again.

"There is one other good thing about Hinata becoming your daughter, Kakashi."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side slight as he asked, "Oh? And what's that?"

"You would be more than capable of training Hinata when the time comes!" Minato exclaimed.

Kakashi laughed nervously at his former sensei's enthusiasm.

"I guess that's true…it would give me something to do now that I am going to have a lot of free time, not being an active shinobi and all."

Being forced into a temporary retirement still stung, but he refused to become irritated with Minato. He understood fully what Minato was doing, and, if things were revered, he'd probably do the same.

Minato nodded, and was about to mention to Kakashi that he might have less free time than he thought (raising a kid was a lot of hard work, after all), when Kushina noticed the time and interrupted him before he could get a word in.

"We should probably get going; it's almost time for us to be back at the hospital. Inoichi will be expecting us to show up around now."

Minato looked to the clock and knew his wife was correct and was going to tell Kakashi he was free to leave, when he realized something.

"Would you like to be there when Hinata wakes up?" Kakashi had every right to be there if he so chose to be.

Kakashi nodded after thinking it over, "Yeah, I do, Minato-sensei."

He was her adoptive parent, after all. If he wanted to help Hinata overcome what happened, the least he could do was be there for her when she'd need someone the most.

'_That's what a real parent would do, right?' _

He wasn't sure.

He had never really known his mother (she died when he was very young at the hands of one of his father's enemies), and he never saw his father much before his death (due to his father's busy shinobi career, and the fact that he separated himself from him).

'_I've got a lot to learn about this parenting shit…'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Minato looked to his wife while Kakashi tried to figure out just what a good parent was like.

"So, shall we go now?"

"I was the one who said we should in the first place." Kushina stated somewhat playfully.

Minato nodded and led them out of his office.

Kakashi followed with one thought in his mind, _'Well, when in doubt, wing it…'_

Not the best of ideas, but what other choice did he have?

* * *

><p>.<p>

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.

* * *

><p>While Kushina and Minato were meeting with Kakashi and Hiashi, Inoichi had been able to finish his own work. Though, it had been extremely difficult for him to do so.<p>

For the past hour and a half or so, he had been scanning through the memories that belonged to Hinata, and what he saw made him feel sick. She had suffered more than she should have the past seven years in the orphanage, but none of that had been nearly as bad as what had happened to her a few nights ago. She had suffered from something no woman should ever have to go through. And the fact that she was a child made it even viler. If there was one thing Inoichi couldn't stand more than anything, it was child molesters. He had never come into contact with one until Takeshi, and he was glad for that. Seeing that someone could do that to a child made him feel sick.

Another horrible thing about it all was that Hinata was not even a trained killer, a Kunoichi. She wasn't even a Kunoichi in training. She was an innocent child who had been tortured endlessly for hours. And what she had gone through could have even caused the most hardened Kunoichi to break. She wasn't prepared for anything like that, while a Kunoichi would be. Kunoichi always kept it in mind that something of that caliber could happen to them while in the field, while Hinata couldn't even put a name to it. She had never once in her life heard the word 'rape' before…

"Dammit." Inoichi muttered as he slouched against the wall with his head buried in his hands.

What he saw had disturbed him greatly and he now couldn't help but worry about his own daughter.

Inoichi never felt more concerned about his daughter than he did at that moment. He knew Ino looked up to him and wanted to become a great ninja like he was and it scared him.

What if the same thing ever happened to his baby girl?

How would he be able to handle it?

And, more importantly, how would she ever handle it?

Inoichi let out a long sigh.

If he, a trained shinobi, had trouble getting the images of what he saw out of his head, than how could Hinata ever hope to do so?

How would she heal from such a traumatic experience?

Inoichi silently cursed to himself once more. He really hated his job sometimes, and that was especially true at that very moment.

This wasn't the first time Inoichi had to look through the memories of someone who was raped and tortured, but it was the first time he ever had to see it through the eyes of an innocent child. Before he had only witnessed such events from the perspective of someone who had been trained to withstand such punishment; someone who wouldn't be as surprised about it as Hinata had been. He only ever saw something like this from the point of view of trained ninja; Kunoichi who knew the dangers of being a female in their line of work.

Inoichi bit his lip. Hinata may never fully recover from what had happened to her. And, not only that, but he realized she may never trust anyone again. Inoichi knew of the anger and hatred she felt toward everyone as he could sense it when he entered her mind...

Then a thought passed through his head. _'No, not everyone...'_

The image of a silver haired man filled his mind. He, like almost everyone, had never seen his face before, but there was one thing that gave Kakashi away and that was his single red eye, his Sharingan.

Inoichi's eyes widened and he about jumped to his feet.

That was it.

He was the one she needed.

The only person who had any hope of helping the young girl was Hatake Kakashi. He was the only one who Hinata would trust at the moment and that was because he saved her. He showed her that she wasn't alone by doing that. At the moment, he knew, she couldn't help but feel he was her guardian angel….

Inoichi sighed in relief. He was glad that he found a small sliver of hope within the girl. With Kakashi's help she had a better chance of overcoming what had happened to her. Had she been alone—well, he'd rather not think about that.

'_Now I'll just have to let the Hokage know—'_

Abruptly Inoichi was taken from his thoughts when the door to the hospital room opened. Inoichi groaned in annoyance as he jumped in surprise.

'_Well, that wasn't smart…anyone could have easily killed me with how well I was paying attention!'_

He knew it was an overstatement, but he still didn't like the fact that he didn't notice three of the strongest shinobi approaching…their chakra signatures should have been easy to detect. He wasn't a sensor type ninja for nothing, after all. He just had been too preoccupied by his thoughts to realize they were nearing him.

'_This just makes it easier for me, I guess. Everyone I need to talk to is already here.' _

"Hello again, Hokage-sama." Inoichi tiredly stated; the task he had completed left him feeling drained of strength.

Minato frowned. He could easily tell that Inoichi was extremely bothered by what had happened to Hinata.

"I'm sorry again, Inoichi, for making you do this."

Inoichi waved his apology away. "It's alright; I knew what I was getting myself into. I could have refused to do this had I wanted to, but I didn't. I want to help her in any way I can, just as you do."

Minato nodded. "I guess you're right…"

For the next couple of minutes an awkward silence fell upon the group of ninja.

Kushina cleared her throat to break that silence and asked, "So…did you find anything of use for us?"

She held her breath, expecting the worse.

To her surprise, Inoichi smiled at her.

"I did, actually."

Minato raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Hatake Kakashi." Inoichi responded confidently.

Since his named had been mentioned, Kakashi decided to inquire into it.

"I beg your pardon? What do I have to do with it?"

"What I mean to say is," Inoichi began. "Is that in order for Hinata to overcome this the easiest way possible, she needs your help, Kakashi. Without it, she may never be able to rise above it."

"Why is that, Inoichi?" Kakashi asked, curiously.

"The reason for that, Kakashi," Inoichi answered. "Is that when you stepped in to save her she had thought of you as her guardian angel. She had been put through so much that she began to feel hatred toward everyone…except for you, I realized. When she saw that you had stepped in to save her, relief filled her mind. She realized she wasn't alone. She doesn't know who you are, Kakashi—hell, at the moment, I don't even think she knows that you are a real person. I believe she really does think of you as the angel who came to rescue her. And that is why she needs your help. I know this will put a lot of stress on you, but she needs you. I really believe she does."

Kakashi let out a long sigh.

"This day is just not getting any easier, is it?"

Inoichi out of curiosity, asked, "Why is that?"

Minato smiled sadly, and looked to his wife, "I guess we had made the right choice, eh Kushina?"

Kushina nodded, and this just confused Inoichi more.

"What are you guys talking about?"

He was out of the loop, apparently.

Kakashi looked to Hinata, sorrow filled his eyes. He would help her, no matter how hard it was for him to do so. She didn't deserve any of what had happened to her, and he made a promise to her that he was sure to keep. He would save her from the darkness that filled her heart.

'_I don't know how I will do it as I still have my own demons to overcome, but I swear to you, Hinata, I will not let you go down the dark path you are certainly headed for.' _

Kakashi turned his attention back to Inoichi. He would answer his question.

"You're currently looking at Hinata's adoptive parent." Kakashi stated.

Inoichi's mouth fell open in surprise.

When he finally regained his composure, he said, "I can honestly say, I was not expecting that."

And he wasn't.

He never in his life would think of Kakashi as the parenting type.

"Welcome to the party." Kakashi answered.

When he had met Minato at the Hokage Tower earlier that day, he neither expected that he'd leave the room with a daughter.

Minato patted Kakashi on the back.

"It won't be that bad, I swear!" He smiled. "And, like I said earlier, Kushina and I will be there to help you through it. We promise we will."

Inoichi looked to Minato and Kushina. "She doesn't trust you guys or anyone but Kakashi, anymore."

It pained him to say it, but he knew it had to be said. They needed to know just how badly the attack affected her.

"She blames you guys for it. She blames everyone for it. In her mind she is cursing everything for it."

Tears filled Kushina's eyes, but she managed to wipe them away. "We expected as much."

She turned to Hinata. "But we made a promise to her that it wouldn't happen again. We will gain her trust once more no matter how long it takes or we will die trying. We will help Kakashi show her that she doesn't need to hate the world for what happened to her. We will help her realize not everyone is like Dai Takeshi or Nobuo Kuro. One day she will be able to see the good in people again."

Minato nodded. He knew Kushina would never give up on what she promised as that was her Nindō and his as well because of her. Grabbing her hand, he smiled.

How was he able to get himself the perfect woman?

She was strong in both the physical and emotional sense, and was kind (unless someone were to mess with her or her precious people, of course).

Kushina looked to husband and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" She asked while she tried to rub off whatever it was she thought she had on her face.

Minato shook his head. "It's nothing…"

Looking toward Inoichi, he then asked, "So do you think it is okay to wake her up now…or should we wait a few more days?"

Inoichi shrugged. "I don't think much is to change in a few days, Hokage-sama. You might as well get it over with. I don't think any of us is looking forward to waking her up, but it needs to be done in order for her emotional scars to have any hope of healing. At the moment all she is doing is reliving that event over and over again. It has become her worst nightmare."

He frowned as they all looked toward the almost peaceful looking girl.

It was true. What had happened to her had been so horrible that that's all her unconscious mind had been able to think about. He didn't even have to search to find what happened to her…as soon as he entered her mind he was able to see it clearly.

Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the people in the room. "Should I go get the Doctor?"

He needed to get out of the room if only for a moment. Looking through Hinata's mind had affected him greatly. He needed air.

"That would be a good idea, Inoichi." Kakashi said lazily when neither Kushina nor Minato responded. "Tell her we're ready."

When Inoichi left the room, Kakashi swore he heard him mutter something about how Dai Takeshi deserved to rot in hell for eternity. Kakashi, in turn, whole heartedly agreed.

'_I wonder if Minato-sensei will let me do the honor of sending him from this world when we are no longer in need of him? Then again, maybe not. I'd probably have to fight Kushina for it…And Hiashi too, if he knows Takeshi is still alive.' _

Kakashi believed he did know, and that he was the one who left Takeshi in his almost dead state. He had no clue who had actually done it (he thought maybe it was Kushina's work), and it wasn't until after he found out Hiashi was Hinata's father that he suspected him. After he found that out, it was easy to connect the dots.

After a moment had passed, Kushina once again brought her attention to Hinata's sleeping form.

"I hope we don't mess up."

Minato and Kakashi nodded in agreement, though Kushina had not noticed. Instead her back was turned to them as she walked to Hinata's side and grabbed her hand. Leaning over she placed a kiss on the top of her forehead before returning to husband's side.

'_No matter what, Hinata-chan, I will help you get through this. I swear to you on my life I will.'_

Kushina forced her tears back while her hands formed fists at her side.

"You will never be left alone like that again—Dattebane!" She finished out loud, surprising both men.

Sometimes Kushina would forget she liked to think aloud, and now was one of those times. After a few moments she realized what she had done, and she blushed lightly in embarrassment.

Minato smiled at the actions of his wife and pulled her into a hug. "We'll both make sure of that, and you will too, right, Kakashi?"

Pulling his wife into an embrace, he gently kissed her rose colored lips before Kakashi could answer.

Kushina shivered at the show of affection. No matter how many times he had kissed her, he still was able to send waves of goose bumps down her spine. Pressing herself closer to him, she deepened the kiss.

A cough on the other side of the room reminded them that they were not the only conscious ones there, and Kushina pushed herself away from her husband, her cheeks were colored a deep shade of crimson.

"Ahahaha…sorry about that, Kakashi." Minato muttered, also embarrassed.

Kakashi responded as if nothing had happened to which Kushina and Minato were thankful of.

"What are you sorry for, Minato-sensei? All I was going to say was that I will try my best at helping Hinata as well."

Minato laughed while rubbing his head. "Ah, I see…that's very good to hear."

Kakashi couldn't help but have a little fun at their expense.

He looked toward Kushina and said, "My, my, what red cheeks you have. With that hair, and the color of your cheeks, no wonder you used to be called Tomato…I think it's a really fitting name for you."

Kushina's eyes narrowed dangerously. She hadn't been called Tomato in years. People learned to stop it early when they realized she was going to kick their asses for calling her that.

"What was that, Kakashi_-chan_? I didn't quite catch what you said."

Minato backed away from the two as he had no desire to get between them. Kushina was scary when she was like that, and he was not going to try and get in her way. Kakashi shouldn't have said what he did, and if he got beaten within an inch of his life it would be his own fault.

'_You poor, poor fool, Kakashi…why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut?'_

Kakashi did his closed eyed smile, and held his hands up in front of him in defensively.

"Nothing, I didn't say anything—"

"But I could have sworn you just called me Tomato." Kushina interrupted with an evil glint in her eyes.

Kakashi backed away a little, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"I would never."

Kushina was about to open her mouth again, but before she could, Inoichi entered the room with Chie at his heel. He was hoping it would take longer to find her as he wanted some air, but she had been pretty easy to find.

Inoichi and Chie stopped when they felt how cold the room's atmosphere was.

"Did we, uh, interrupt something?" Inoichi asked, nervously.

Kushina gave Kakashi a look that said 'don't worry, we can continue this later, I won't forget' before turning toward Inoichi, a smile adorning her face.

"Nope, you didn't interrupt a thing." She said.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief, _'I'm safe…for now, at least.' _

Inoichi nodded, and then waved lazily toward Chie.

"I've gotten her, as you can see."

Chie bowed respectfully, and stated, "Hello Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama."

Kushina hated being called 'Kushina-sama' but ignored that for now.

"Hello, Chie. How are you?"

"Tired." She responded. "And, you?"

"The same." Kushina answered.

It was then she noticed that Chie carried a single syringe and a vial full of a clear liquid.

"What is that for?"

"This, Kushina-sama…" Chie paused while she filled the syringe with the vial's contents, measuring it with much skill and precision. "Is the drug that will awaken Hinata from her medically induced coma."

Kushina nodded having already figured it out before she answered "I see. And after you give her the drug, how long will it be before she awakens?"

"A few minutes, at most." Chie answered as she stood at Hinata's bed.

In one quick motion, Chie quickly put the needle into her IV and released the medicine to flow into her bloodstream.

Afterwards, she carefully disposed of the syringe in the medical hazard box, and then asked, "So, who wants to be the first person she sees when she awakes?"

Six eyes turned toward Kakashi simultaneously.

Chie laughed at their antics, "Hatake-san it is then."

Kakashi sighed as he went toward the hospital bed.

'_I wonder what will happen when she wakes up…'_

And, unluckily for him, it didn't take long to find out. Kakashi had just reached the young girl's side, when her eyes began to flutter opened.

She blinked once, twice, three times before she noticed the man towering above her.

Kakashi smiled down at her, forgetting she wouldn't be able to see it under his mask, and was just about to tell her who he was and that she was safe and that he would be there to protect her.

However, he never got the chance. Just as he was about to speak, her eyes focused in on him, and a moment later a scream erupted from her mouth.

It was a blood curdling scream that sent shivers down all of their backs.

Kakashi's words remained forgotten on the tip of his tongue as he stared in surprise at the girl in front of him.

Everyone in the room stared at the girl agape.

No one was expecting Hinata to be terrified of Kakashi, her guardian angel.

_**End.**_


	5. The Promise

_**How Things Change:**__**  
>Chapter IV~ The Promise<strong>_

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><p>Kakashi took a quick step back from the screaming girl, terrified.<p>

How was he supposed to handle this?

He had never been in this sort of situation before, never had a child look at him with such fear. This girl wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, her wild screams proved this.

But why was that?

What had he done to her?

He was the one who had saved her from the hell she was going through, right?

So why was she screaming as if her life was slowly and painfully ending?

No one was hurting her right now, no one in the room wanted any harm to come to her, so why?

Why was she reacting this way?

He should be, according to the leader of the Yamanaka clan, the only one she trusted, the only one she let in.

So, why, then, was she screaming bloody murder?

'_This isn't supposed to be happening like this…unless…could Inoichi have been wrong? Is it possible that she sees me as her attacker even though I was the one who saved her?'_ Kakashi bit his lip in thought. _'No, I don't believe that's it. Inoichi Yamanaka is the most powerful mind walker we have he wouldn't have misread something so important. So, what did I do wrong?'_

Kakashi buried his face into his hands in confusion.

He hadn't been able to utter a single word to her before she had begun screaming, so what could he have possibly done to alarm her?

He hadn't even reached a hand out to her. He had kept his distance knowing that it was probably the smart thing to do and yet it hadn't mattered, she had still become frightened of him.

'_What am I doing wrong? C'mon think, think! What have I done to scare her?!' _

However, it didn't matter how many times he turned the question around in his head; he still couldn't figure out the answer.

Turning his head in the direction of everyone else, he tried to catch Minato's eye because surely he would be able to help him, right?

However, what he saw within Minato's eyes left Kakashi feeling hopeless. What he saw in his former sensei's eyes mirrored his own confusion. He, just like Kakashi, had no idea what was wrong with Hinata.

He was at a lost.

They all were.

Even though he knew it was futile, Kakashi pleadingly turned his attention over to Kushina, hoping that she would be able to offer him some kind of help whereas her husband failed to do so. However, she just looked at Kakashi worriedly, and shook her head. She was of no help, either.

A quick glance at Chie had shown him that neither was she. The only thing she could offer him was to sedate Hinata, and from the look on her face, Kakashi knew that she wanted to. Kakashi shook his head in the negative as that was only a temporary fix, and that stopped Chie's quivering hand from grabbing the sedative she had started to reach for.

Her eyes asked him, _are you sure?_

Kakashi nodded his head, before looking over to his last hope: Inoichi Yamanaka. However, Kakashi soon was crestfallen to discover that Inoichi had his eyes closed, obviously deep in thought.

'_It looks like I'm on my own…'_

He sighed in frustration, having no idea what someone should do in this sort of situation.

What could he have possibly done to scare her?

Kakashi began rubbing his temples, completely unsure of what to do.

'_Well, the first thing I need to do is relax; I'll be of no help to anyone if I can't stay calm.' _Kakashi thought as he inhaled deeply. He did this a couple of times before continuing his thoughts._ 'That's better. Now, what should I do to calm her fear of me?'_

Kakashi looked back to Hinata.

He was glad she wasn't screaming anymore as her high pitched wailing bothered his sensitive hearing, but what he saw wasn't much better. Hinata cowered in the corner of her bed, curled up into a ball, and was silently sobbing.

Taking a step forward, he tried to talk to her though he knew it would be of no use.

"Hinata, calm down, I'm not trying to hurt you, I just—" He never finished what he was saying, however, because Hinata let out a wailing shriek.

Starting to panic, he raised his voice without realizing it and cried out, "Please calm down, Hinata. Please, _please_ calm down! I promise no one here is going to hurt you—we're trying to help you!"

Kakashi's pleas fell on deaf ears, however. Kakashi then, not thinking straight due to desperation, tentatively reached a hand out to Hinata to comfort her, only to have it backfire in his face.

With pretty impressive reflexes for someone who had just woken up from a week long coma, Hinata flung herself away from the approaching hand, almost falling over the rail of the bed in the process, all the while shouting, "STAY AWAY FROM ME! DON'T TOUCH ME! LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP TRYING TO HURT ME! STOP IT, STOP IT, _STOP IT_!"

Burying her face in her hands, Hinata continued to sob and Kakashi could just barely make out her say, "P…p…please d…d…don't h…h…hurt m…m…me."

Kakashi's arm dropped limply to his side as he watched the small, broken girl cry her eyes out. His job was to protect the people of the village, and yet he couldn't even help one small child. On the contrary, he just seemed to be making matters worse.

He failed as person, as a shinobi. He couldn't help her, just as he couldn't help Obito or Rin—

'_No I must not think that way!'_

Kakashi thought as new determination filled his eyes. He would help Hinata no matter what. He promised her he would help and protect her, and he refused to fail one more person.

'_Kushina is rubbing off on me…'_

Biting his lip in concentration, once more he tried to find a way to calm her down. After a few moments of thinking, however, he realized he had no other choice but to rely on the last gift his best friend ever left him and he quickly lifted the headband that kept his lone Sharingan eye hidden. He wasn't going to control her fully, though he very well could have. He just wanted her to forget a bit of her fear so he could explain all that was happening.

'_Now how do I get her to look into my eyes without frightening her even more?' _He thought.

He knew he could very well grab her and make her look into his eyes, but he preferred not to have to resort to such drastic measures unless he absolutely had too.

While Kakashi was thinking of a way to get Hinata to look into his eyes, Inoichi's eyes opened in realization.

He looked to Kakashi and noticed that his Sharingan was uncovered.

'_Did he figure it out too?'_ Inoichi thought for a moment. _'No, he hasn't...'_

Speaking quickly, he said, "Kakashi, pull your mask down as well!"

Kakashi, taken aback at Inoichi's outburst, turned and stared at the Yamanaka with one of his eyebrows raised in confusion.

How was him removing his mask going to help her?

'_What an inappropriate time to ask such a thing.' _Kakashi's eyes narrowed. _'Now is not the tim—'_

Kakashi mouth fell open in surprise.

"That's it…" Kakashi quietly murmured, finally realizing why Inoichi had told him to pull his mask down.

Inoichi wasn't telling Kakashi to remove his mask for some selfish reason—hell, he must have already seen it when he had looked through Hinata's memories—no, the reason he had told him to pull it down was because of the fact that with it on Kakashi, from Hinata's perspective, must look very similar to the one who had attacked her.

After all, Dai Takeshi, not Kakashi, had been the one wearing a mask when she was attacked.

The first time Hinata had ever laid eyes on Kakashi was when his face was uncovered. He hadn't had time to get dressed so his normal attire had been replaced with his sleepwear. Right now he looked completely different than the first time she had seen him.

All she saw now was a masked man—her nightmare—looming over her.

'_Ugh, how could I have been so stupid?'_ Kakashi cursed to himself.

The solution to his problem had been so simple, why hadn't he thought of it sooner?

Earlier he had been close to the truth; Hinata did see him as her attacker.

It never crossed his mind that it was all because of a simple piece of fabric, however.

Kakashi pushed back the irritation he felt about Inoichi missing something so obvious, as he had no right to feel that way.

Sure he could blame Inoichi for it, but what would that solve?

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

And, anyways, it was just as much his fault as it was Inoichi's—actually, it was probably more his fault than it was Inoichi's. He had been the one physically there. He personally knew Takeshi had had a mask on his face, and that he did not. He should have put the pieces together right away, that was his job as a shinobi. He was supposed to see underneath the underneath, and yet he had failed at catching a small, crucial piece of information.

He probably still wouldn't have figured it out had it not been for the Yamanaka. Inoichi had saved him a lot of trouble by figuring it out when he did, he should be thankful.

'_What's done is done. I can't change what happened; all I can do is make up for my mistakes.'_ Kakashi thought as he ripped his mask down in one fluid motion.

He did not care in the slightest who saw his face; calming Hinata down was more important than keeping himself hidden, he realized.

'_Gai sure will be disappointed to know he missed out on this…'_

Ever since he could remember, Maito Gai had been trying to catch a glance of his face, only to fail each and every time. Since forgiving his father, Kakashi knew he could stop wearing the mask at any time, but he had realized long ago it was fun messing with the eccentrically dressed shinobi. And Gai, of course, knew this. He swore to Kakashi that he would one day see his face, and once he did it would prove once and for all who was the stronger of the two.

Kakashi couldn't let him win, now could he?

Kakashi sighed as he pushed all thoughts from his head and then turned his undivided attention to Hinata.

He needed her to look at him.

Silently Kakashi walked up to Hinata, and very gently touched her arm. Hinata, who had her eyes closed, hadn't sensed Kakashi walk toward her. She recoiled at the touch, and just for a moment, her eyes locked with Kakashi's. But, a moment was all Kakashi needed.

"Hinata, will you please calm down?" Kakashi asked, softly. "We're not going to hurt you."

Hinata's eyes glazed over just a bit, and she nodded her head.

"You promise not to scream anymore?" He asked, gently. "And you promise to listen to what I have to say?"

Hinata nodded her head. In a monotonous voice not quite her own she whispered, "I promise."

Kakashi let out a sigh relief as he broke the eye contact. Hinata's eyes soon lost their glassy look as they began to focus; this time, however, she did not scream when they focused in on Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled down at the young girl. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, Hinata. And I am the one who saved you. I promise I will not hurt you."

Hinata's mouth fell opened. She had recognized Kakashi before he had spoken.

Tears began to fall down her cheeks, and she tried to wipe them away, but they wouldn't stop. She was alive and she was safe. And it was all because of the silver haired man who stood before her.

Kakashi mistaking thought she was still afraid because of the tears and took a step back away from her.

As he did so, a look of desperation filled Hinata's eyes, and she threw herself at Kakashi.

"Please don't leave me!" She cried out as she gripped his shirt.

She couldn't stand the thought of him leaving her.

Between sobs, Kakashi heard her say, "P...please do…don't g…g…go!"

Kakashi frowned.

She didn't deserve this.

She was suffering far more than she ever should have.

Without thinking, Kakashi wrapped his arms around her, and whispered, "I won't ever leave you, Hinata. I promise."

Hinata looked up at him pleadingly and stuttered, "D-do you really m-m-mean that?"

She had been let down so many times that it was difficult for her to believe him.

"I swear on my life, Hinata. I will keep you safe." He stated, fully intending to keep his word.

Hinata couldn't help but feel as if he were lying.

"That's what Kushina-sama said too..." She bit her lip, trying to hold her tears back. "But she lied."

Kakashi's felt his heart break a little hearing that and a quick glance at Kushina told him it cut her more deeply than any knife could.

"Kushina loves you Hinata. She really loves you. And she regrets not being able to save you more than anything. As does Minato—"

Hinata buried her head in Kakashi's chest even further and shook her head.

"They should have tried to help me harder! They should have saved me. They don't love me, if they did, none of this would have happened! They lied to me. Everyone lies to me. You are probably lying to me…"

A sob kept her from continuing.

Kakashi looked over to Inoichi when he felt the small concealing Genjutsu take effect.

Hinata hadn't noticed that Kushina and Minato had been in the room yet, and Inoichi didn't want her too.

When Kakashi raised an eyebrow in confusion, Inoichi mouthed, _"It's too soon."_

Nodding Kakashi turned back to Hinata.

He couldn't worry about how Minato and Kushina felt right now, no matter how badly it hurt him to hear her say those things about them. She was in greater pain than either of them; she was in need of the most help.

Minato and Kushina would survive, Hinata, on the other hand, might not.

Kakashi took his hand and gently stroke her hair in what he thought would be a soothing gesture.

"I'm not lying to you Hinata. I will keep my promise. Do you remember what I promised you when I saved you?"

Hinata's eyes widened as his words from before filled her head.

_"It'll be alright now, Hinata, I've got you. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you, not now, not ever. You can relax easily now." _

"And if you still can't believe me then, at least, bring yourself to believe your older brother."

Hinata's brow rose in confusion. "B-b-but I don't have any brothers…"

Kakashi's smile widened.

"Oh, yes you do. You're looking at him."

Hinata's mouth fell open in shock. He wasn't saying what she thought he was saying, was he?

No, it couldn't be.

No one could ever want her; at least that's what Kuro always told her…right?

It must be a dream, Hinata decided, and slowly she pinched her arm to wake up only to feel the sting of it when Kakashi spoke.

"Today you were adopted into my family. And I swear I will keep you, my little sister, safe. What kind of older brother would I be if I did otherwise?"

She still wasn't sure if she could believe him, and she pinched herself again and again and again just to make sure it wasn't a dream.

No one had ever showed any interest in adopting her; it was quite the opposite, actually. Whenever anyone came in looking to adopt they made it a point to ignore her.

So, did that mean that he was just pulling a mean joke over on her?

He must be seeing as it obviously wasn't a dream, and he couldn't possibly want her as a sister.

Tears of anger filled Hinata's eyes.

How could he do that to her?

Why did everyone she know have to hurt her?

Why couldn't she trust anyone?

"I promise I'm not lying to you, I truly promise I'm not." Kakashi said, seeing the disbelief and anger in her eyes.

Smiling reassuringly, he gently wiped the tears away. "Welcome to my family…Hatake Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened as tears of happiness filled them to the brim; hearing him call her that had done it.

She believed him.

For the first time ever, she felt truly loved.

Burying her face into his chest, she began to cry uncontrollably.

"My family isn't very big, though, so it'll just be the two of us." Kakashi said, as he awkwardly ran his hand threw her hair.

Hinata shook her head.

She didn't care if it was just going to be the two of them.

None of that matter.

All that matter was that she had finally gotten the one thing she had ever wanted, a family.

'_If this is a dream, I never want to wake up...'_ Was the last thing she thought before she slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>Kakashi slumped against the wall in the hallway of the hospital, totally drained of energy.<p>

He had just left the room after substituting with a shadow clone so as not to wake the slumbering girl. Now he was feeling totally exhausted as it had taken a lot out of him to do what he had done, but it lifted his spirits to know he had succeeded.

"How did I do, Minato-sensei?" He asked solemnly, expecting to get a tongue lashing for his inability to calm Hinata down faster.

Minato placed a kind hand on Kakashi's shoulder and smiled down at him.

"You did fine, Kakashi."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side slightly in confusion, "But I should have figured it out sooner…"

Minato shook his head. "I don't blame either you or Inoichi. It was a slight setback, yes, but it has been all taken care of. All we can do now is learn from our mistakes, right?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Right." He then sighed. "I don't know if I'll do a good job raising Hinata, but I will try my best."

"You will do great, Kakashi. I believe in you." He responded, with a smile.

Kushina brought Kakashi into a hug.

"As do I." She then whispered so only he could hear, "I haven't forgotten the Tomato comment, though…"

As she pulled away, Kakashi caught the evil glint in her eye, as well as the threatening grin she hid beneath her sweet smile.

He was going to regret ever calling her that, he was sure of it. Kushina was a prankster at heart and while it was true she had not done much in the way of pranking lately, he had a feeling she was going to make an exception just for him. How lucky…

'_You sure are a scary woman, Kushina…I pity Minato, sometimes.'_

"For what it's worth," Inoichi said, interrupting Kakashi's thoughts. "I also think you'll do fine. You're everything she needs right now, Kakashi. You won't let her down."

Once again Kakashi's spirits were lifted.

It was nice hearing it from him as well, since he too had a daughter Hinata's age.

Inoichi then turned to the Hokage. "I really should get going; my wife is expecting me for dinner."

Minato nodded. "Of course, you're free to go, Inoichi. Thank you for your help."

Inoichi nodded, and turned away.

It was time for him to go spend some quality time with his wife and daughter.

Once he left, Kakashi turned to Chie. "How long until she can be released from the hospital?"

Chie thought a moment. "Within a couple of days, I would say. Her physical injuries have been fully healed for a few days now. Normally, I would keep her longer to watch over her emotional scars, but I believe she will do better, and heal better, in your care."

Kakashi nodded, and then he turned to Minato. "I have to go as there are things that I must set straight if I am to take her in two days."

Minato nodded in understanding. "It's alright. We'll stay with her until you get back."

Kakashi nodded before disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves.

"I feel bad that everything is being put onto his shoulders." Kushina said, sadly.

"As do I, Kushina." Minato then smiled. "But he is strong. He can handle this. I know he can. I'm going to check on Hinata now."

Kushina nodded as Minato walked into her room, and then turned to Chie. "Thank you for all of your help. Without you, Hinata might not have made it."

Chie smiled.

"I'm glad I could be of help." She frowned with a sigh. "But I have something I want to confess."

"And what's that?" Kushina asked, curiously.

Chie closed her eyes for what she was about to say was hard.

She felt horrible about it.

"The truth is," She began. "I was once someone who hated Hinata."

Kushina's mouth fell open.

She never would have guessed it.

"I lost my husband during the attack. He was a member of ANBU, a captain actually, and was needed on the front lines. He sacrificed himself in order to save his teammates. It was because of that that I blamed Hinata. I lost the only man I ever loved during the attack, and was forced to bring up my daughter without her ever truly knowing her father. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help but feel resentment towards her."

Kushina frowned. "Why did you save her, then?"

"I couldn't stand seeing her in so much pain. When I saw her in Kakashi-san's arms, bleeding, helpless, I finally realized it wasn't a monster I saw, but a young, broken girl who was in need of help, in need of love. She was hurt. So very hurt. I had to help her. How could I have gone home and looked my own child in the eyes, knowing that I left her to die?" She looked up at Kushina, with tears in her eyes. "Hinata isn't a monster. The monsters are the ones who cause her pain, who hate her. Myself included."

Kushina shook her head as she placed a hand on the young doctor's shoulder.

"You are not a monster, Chie. You were blinded by your grief. A monster would have left her to suffer. The one who put her here is a monster, but you are not. You've realized you were wrong to resent Hinata. And you've changed. Like Minato said earlier, all we can do now is learn from our mistakes."

Chie nodded, but she knew it would be a little while before she forgave herself.

But she felt a little better having let it off of her chest.

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><p>Minato and Kushina were making their way to the office to put the Hokage seal on the papers, when Danzō appeared around the corner.<p>

"Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama." He said respectfully.

Minato tensed. "What can I do for you, Danzō?"

"Nothing important, I was just saying hello." Danzō said. "I'll just take my leave now, good day."

Danzō bowed before the Hokage and his wife before continuing on his way.

'_Those were adoption papers he was holding, I am sure of it…I wonder who they are for…'_

Truth be told, he had a feeling he knew exactly who they were for and a small smile appeared on his face.

'_It won't stop me from getting my hands on her at some point…but I wonder what Koharu and Homura will think? Hmmm, things are just starting to get interesting…'_

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><p><em>.<em>

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><p>Elsewhere in the village, Kakashi sat in the shadows of an empty house. He had neither his headband nor mask on.<p>

If one saw him, they would notice the deep pain showing freely in his eyes. Normally he hid his emotions expertly, he was a ninja after all, but sometimes he was unable to. Like now.

Kakashi sighed.

All he could see, while in the master bedroom of the house was his father hanging from the ceiling, his neck broken, his lifeless eyes staring into his own…

Kakashi closed his eyes to shake the vision from his mind.

He had been the one who had found his father's dead body, after all, and it was because of that that he had never returned to the house before now.

Would he ever be able to live here peacefully?

Or would he always see his dead father within the confinement of the house?

"I'm sorry, for everything." Kakashi whispered to himself, trying to push the image of his father's corpse from his mind.

He blamed himself for his father's death. He, just as everyone else had, had been ashamed of him. It had been hard on his father when it was the village who had hated him, but it must have been even worse when he realized that his own son started to, too.

Kakashi had been so ashamed of his father that he had started to wear a mask to hide his face from the village. He didn't ever want to see his father in himself, so he hid behind a piece of fabric like the coward he was. It hurt his father every time he saw the mask, he knew, but Kakashi couldn't stop himself from wearing it. He was weak, and afraid of what other people thought of him. Kakashi had cared too much about what strangers thought than he did about his own blood.

He had yet to forgive himself for it.

Even now, he wore the mask to hide behind. Sure he did it to mess with Gai mostly, but part of him was still afraid of being seen by others. He didn't want people to tarnish the memory of his father any more than they already had, and he believed if he showed his face to others they would do just that. He felt everyone would be reminded of his father if they saw his face, the face of his father's legacy, and that all they would do is talk about the man who helped bring him into the world.

He was also ashamed of himself, and felt he did not deserve to be his father's son.

'_I'm a coward…'_

His father had been a wreck before he died. First he lost his wife, then he lost the respect of the village, and lastly he had lost his one and only child.

"I was such a fool..." Kakashi paused, trying to collect himself. "Can you ever forgive me…Dad?"

A couple of tears fell down Kakashi's uncovered face, landing on the photo he held in his hands. Looking up at him were the smiling faces of a younger man and woman, holding a newborn Kakashi between them.

_**End.**_

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><p><strong>Character profile for Chie…<strong>

_**Name: **__**Manami Chie (Chie Manami) **_

_**Age:**__** 29**_

_**Academy Graduation Age:**__** 12**_

_**Chūnin Promotion Age:**__** 13**_

_**Special Jōnin Promotion Age: **__**15**_

_**Family:**_

_**Mother- 64; Civilian; Restaurant Owner  
>Father- 62; Civilian; Restaurant Owner<br>Husband: Manami Kyo; 32; Deceased; Member of ANBU; Killed on the front lines during the Kyūbi's attack.  
>Daughter- About 7 <strong>_

_**Personality/Background:**_

_**Manami Chie is a special Jōnin level shinobi, specializing in medical ninjutsu. She became the head medic in the Konoha hospital after Tsunade's departure. **_

_**Chie lived a mostly normal childhood. She grew up with a mother and a father, though she had no siblings (something she always wanted).**_

_**Her parents were civilians, owning a successful restaurant, and was hoping Chie would take over the business one day. However, when she told them what she wanted to do with her life they decided to support her decision to enter the ninja academy. **_

_**Chie trained hard in the academy to prove that even though she didn't have a shinobi background, she could still become a great ninja. Her excellent chakra control made her an excellent candidate for medical ninjutsu, and when she made Chūnin she was recruited to the hospital by Tsunade and she trained with all other recruits, slowly making her way up the ranks. **_

_**One day while working a double shift in the hospital, an ANBU captain was rushed in for emergency care. Even though she was still new and inexperience, Chie worked her hardest to save him and succeeded.**_

_**While the man, who she found out later was named Kyo, was recuperating Chie got to know him and little by little they fell in love.**_

_**She married him not long after their relationship was official, and was soon with his child.**_

_**Chie had never been happier**_

_**Night The Fox Attacked: **_

_**During the attack she was required to stay at the hospital, even though she was pregnant. She knew her help was needed so even though she was almost due to deliver; she had to heal those around her. **_

_**She knew parents had gotten to the shelters safe and sound; however their restaurant was not so lucky. Chie knew that that was a small price to pay for their lives, however. **_

_**Her husband, she wasn't so sure of. He was a captain in ANBU and was needed in the front lines. She hoped he stayed safe, and prayed for him to return to her. **_

_**Her prayer was answered, though not in the way she had hoped. **_

_**Her husband was one of the people who were brought in for emergency care, after he got severely wounded after saving his teammates.**_

_**For thirty heart wrenching minutes he was operated on, however he did not make it. **_

_**That night Kyo and Chie had shared their final goodbye.**_

_**He died never meeting his unborn daughter. **_

_**After The Attack:**_

_**For many days Chie was a complete wreck. She was devastated at the death of her husband. **_

_**She loved her husband like no other. **_

_**She didn't want her daughter to grow up without her father. **_

_**She wanted a big family, and lots of kids, but that never happened. **_

_**Chie, not being able to handle the loss, sold their house and moved in with her mother and father to raise her daughter. **_

_**Over the next few years, Chie raised her daughter, alone, and continued to work in the hospital, becoming the head medic a few years after Tsunade disappeared. **_

_**Even though she didn't want to, she couldn't help but hate Hinata.**_

_**However, that all changed the night Hinata was attacked. When she saw Hinata so broken, beat, and helpless, all of those negative emotions toward her disappeared. Hinata was no different than her own daughter, she realized. **_

_**She knew her husband and daughter would be disappointed in her actions, so she vowed to make it up to the girl and heal her to the best of her abilities. **_


	6. The Dream

**IMPORTANT (maybe?): **

**For people who are new to this story and have just read the first few chapters before getting to this one, you can skip this (I mean, unless you really want to read it…).**

**However, anyone who has been following this story and is just going to read this chapter and not the ones before it, I ask you to please read the following: **

**Sorry for not updating in a while, but I do have a reason. I don't know if it would be considered a good reason, but…**

**Anyways, after going back and rereading my story, I decided I didn't like certain aspects of it, so I revised the prologue and the first four chapters. I personally think they are better the way they are now, and now it's up to you guys to decide if they are or not (if anyone even remembers what happened in the last chapters)... **

**For example, I changed some things about Hinata's mother and I changed how Hinata's life was like in the orphanage growing up.**

**I guess if you don't want to go back and reread the changes then you don't have too, but I strongly suggest you do so you don't get lost later on in the story. **

**Also, at the end of the Prologue (The Beginning) I added a character profile for Uzumaki Seiko, Hinata's mother. At the end of the first chapter (The Truth), I added character profiles for Nobuo Kuro and Dai Takeshi. And lastly, at the end of the fourth chapter (The Promise) is the profile for Manami Chie (the medic who healed and looked over Hinata after the attack). **

**From now on, I am going to make character profiles for any original characters I add to this story (if I believe they are important enough). I might even do it for some canon characters if I change things about their past (for example, I might do one for Kushina). **

**Anyways, I guess that's all I have to say for now. **

**Now you can continue on to the story!**

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><p><strong>ONE LAST NOTE: In this chapter, Hinata has already been living with Kakashi for about six months. Kakashi has taught her a few basic ninja skills, but not much.<strong>

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><p><em><strong>How Things Change:<br>Chapter V- The Dream**_

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><p><em>Hinata stepped out into the yard—her yard—with a smile on her face. She finally had a place she could call home —her home—and a special person she could call family. <em>

_She was no longer alone._

_Looking up to the sky, Hinata felt tears of happiness run down her face. No longer would she be locked and ignored in the prison she was once forced to call "home". She was free now. Free to do whatever she liked. And, most importantly, she no longer had to live in fear. Fear of being scolded, or being hit, or of being lonely. Kakashi had made sure of that. The time she spent with him was the best. _

_She finally felt loved._

_It was the first time she had ever truly felt that way, and it made her happy. It felt nice. _

_Kakashi had made all of what she had gone through bearable. Without him she would have lost her way, she would have stayed broken. But now, her heart was mending. And it was all thanks to her big brother. _

_Hinata brought her hand to her eyes to rub away her tears. She was so happy to have a family. She was no longer a nobody, an orphan. She was a Hatake. She was the little sister of one of the strongest men in the village. _

'_Thank you, Kakashi-niisan!'_

_Hinata's hand paused in mid motion when she noticed some movement in front of her. For a moment, it frightened her. However, as soon as she got a good look at who it was, her fears disappeared completely. _

"_Kakashi-niisan!" she yelled out as she waved to him._

_He was perched under the cherry blossom tree that stood in the middle of his personal training area, with his nose buried in his orange book. Hinata waited to see if he would join her; however, he instead waved his hand back to her. _

_Her smile widened when she realized that he was beckoning for her to join him. _

_Most times he would stop what he was doing and walk over to her but, every once in a while, he would ask her to join him. When he did, he would show her the basics of chakra control (though she had little talent for it), or help her throw a kunai toward a target. _

_One time he even started teaching her how to throw a punch._

_Hinata wanted to learn as much as he could teach her, because she wanted to be strong. She wanted to be strong enough to protect the person she cared most about: him. However, when she told this to Kakashi, he just smiled and told her she shouldn't push herself too hard, that she should grow up a bit more beforehand, and that he would be the one to protect her. It disappointed her, but she tried not to take it too hard. After all, he promised her that if she ever wanted to start school at the ninja academy in a year, he would become her personal tutor. He would help her become strong. _

_Even though she didn't really want to join the academy—the thought of being in a class with other children terrified her as she never had much experience interacting with others—she'd do it if it meant training with Kakashi. _

_Shaking the thought from her head, she started to walk toward her brother. Before she made it two steps, however, a fox crossed her path. Momentarily she studied the retreating fox. _

'_It has…nine tails?' _

_This confused Hinata, that is, until the realization of what was really happening dawned on her._

_She was only dreaming._

_A frown found its place on Hinata's face as she realized this. She had had this same dream before and knew exactly what was going to happen in it. She was going to wake up right before she reached Kakashi. It made her sad, but at least it wasn't going to be a bad dream. She could live with it since she would see the real Kakashi when she awoke from her sleep. _

_Deciding to try and end it sooner rather than later, she stopped and closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened her eyes she would wake up in her bed. However, after opening her eyes, she realized that wasn't going to happen. This gave her hope. _

_Was she finally going to reach him in this dream? _

_Would she finally see how the dream ended?_

"_Kakashi-niisan!" she exclaimed happily once more, her smile widened as she raced forward to meet him._

_After a moment, though, she realized something wasn't right. She couldn't figure it out at first…_

'_What's going on…?' Hinata thought._

_Then it hit her. She wasn't getting any closer to him no matter how much she ran. It was as if she were walking in place, but never moving forward. _

'_No…that's not it…'_

_While it was true that she wasn't getting any closer to him, it wasn't because she wasn't moving forward. She was. The reason she wasn't getting closer to him was because Kakashi was moving away from her. His legs weren't moving, though, it was as if he were floating away from her. _

_Hinata quickened her pace as her smile began to fade. _

_Why was he drifting away from her? _

_Was he abandoning her like everyone else?_

'_Stop being stupid…it's just a dream…'_

_Closing her eyes, she pushed the thoughts of abandonment far from her mind. She wouldn't—no, couldn't— think that way. She would lose herself in the dream if she did. She needed to believe in her brother. None of it was really happening, after all. When she woke up, Kakashi would be there to greet her like he always was since she moved in with him. It was because of that thought that made her ready to continue. _

_When she reopened her eyes, she could just barely make out Kakashi in the distance. He was still waving for her to follow him. Resolve filled her eye. _

_She needed to catch up to him. She was going to see this dream to the end, no matter what! _

'_I can do this!' she thought to herself as she begun to run faster._

_She paid no attention to where he was leading her, and only focused on running as fast as her small legs would carry her. _

_However, it was not fast enough. She was losing him. For every one step she moved forward, he was taking two back. _

_Tears began to roll down her face, as she watched him disappear from her sight. She assumed this meant she was going to wake up. She didn't want to, however. She had wanted to finish the dream._

_Slowly her speed decreased until she was completely still. Falling to her knees, she buried her face into hands. Soon she would wake up, and then she would never know how it ended. She wasn't sure why she was taking the dream so hard, she just knew she couldn't help it. The feeling of failure rose in her chest, suffocating her. _

_Silently she cursed herself. She couldn't even succeed in a dream. _

_A minute had passed, then two. She had still not awoken. A smile tugged at her lips._

"_I haven't failed yet!" she exclaimed under her breath. _

_Lifting her head up, she started to look around to see if she knew where she was at. It was dark in the dream now, so it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. When they finally did she wished they had not._

_She was in the very spot Dai Takeshi had attacked her._

_She inhaled sharply, but couldn't exhale. She was wrong; she didn't want to see how this ended. She needed to wake up! Forcing her eyes closed, she waited. _

'_I don't want to see this…I don't want to see this! Please wake up…PLEASE!' she pleaded to herself, 'Anything but this!'_

_She hadn't had a dream about that night in about a week now, and she wanted to keep it that way. It had taken a while, but she had just started sleeping peacefully at night. _

_Until now, that is. _

_A noise from behind her caused her to jump in freight. Whipping her head back and forth she tried to find the source of the noise. Everything was quiet, though—_

_**Snap**_

_The noise was coming from behind her. _

'_Please be Kakashi!' she thought as she slowly turned her head to see what had made the noise. _

_A figure was walking toward her, his shadow looming over her._

"_K-k-kakashi-niisan…?" she stuttered, not able to make the man out. _

_He had come out of the shadows and it was still too dark for her to see. _

_The person remained quiet as they continued to get closer and closer to her. She was about to make a dash from the figure, when he finally stepped out into the moonlight. Relief soon spread throughout her body when she was able to make him out. _

_Kakashi._

_Finally she was able to let out the breath that refused to leave her. _

"_I was so scared!" Hinata exclaimed as she moved over to him. _

_Even though she knew it was a dream, she couldn't help it. It was feeling more and more real every second. _

_Was it really a dream? _

_If so, then why was it starting to feel so real?_

'_It doesn't matter, Kakashi-niisan is here—'_

_Her sense of relief was short lived, however. As soon as she closed in on him, she realized something...something horrible. _

_Kakashi was hurt…no that didn't even describe what Hinata saw. He was mangled; it looked as if a beast had torn him apart._

_Blood gushed from his wounds making pools form around his feet, and his skin was as pale as snow._

_Hinata stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening._

_Tentatively she reached a hand out toward him. _

"_K-kakashi-niisan…?" she whispered; tears spilled from her eyes as she got near. _

_Before she could even touch him, however, he toppled over and his body was completely still. Even though it was a dream the sight of Kakashi's shredded, unmoving body caused Hinata to panic. Rushing forward, she fell to her knees by his side. _

_Up close it was even worse… he was deathly pale, almost translucent. It wasn't like snow at all. It was whiter than snow. _

_She could see every gash, every speck of blood, and the smell of death filled her nose. _

_Hinata just stared at his body, hypnotized by the sight of it. Her mind couldn't process what she saw before her. _

_She was in shock._

'_Kakashi-nii is dead…?'_

'…_no, that can't be right…'_

'_But it is.'_

'_He's lying right in front of me!' _

"_Kakashi-niisan?" Hinata whimpered. "I d-don't like this g-game…p-p-please stop it."_

_His lack of an answer forced the shock away, and Hinata felt her world crumple around her. He wasn't playing._

_He was dead._

_Dead._

_Dead._

_**DEAD!**_

_She yelled as she violently shook him, hoping it would make him wake up. "KAKASHI-NIISAN! KAKASHI-NIISAN! PLEASE ANSWER ME!"_

_However, no matter how loud she yelled, or how roughly she shook him, he just wouldn't answer, wouldn't move._

_He was gone. _

_Forever._

_She was alone once more._

_A hiccup escaped her throat as she sobbed uncontrollably. _

_Why was this happening? _

_If this was a dream like she had first thought, it would have ended by now. _

_Wouldn't it have?_

_Hinata's mind was in shambles. She wasn't sure if this was a dream anymore, it felt too real. _

_If it was, why hadn't she awoken already?_

_Why was she stuck in this nightmare?_

"_**The reason is simple," **__a voice from behind her hissed in her mind, as if they heard her very thoughts, __**"you haven't reached the end, yet."**_

_Jumping up in fright, Hinata turned toward the source of the noise but she saw no one. _

_No one at first, anyway. _

_Out of the same shadows that Kakashi appeared from, came the sound of rustling bushes. The noise of someone walking grew louder with every step they took._

_A scream began to form in her throat when the person finally appeared in front of her. _

_Standing mere feet from her was Dai Takeshi._

_Her eyes widened in fright as she fell back away from him. _

"_**Miss me?"**__ he jeered. _

_That's when she noticed it. She was too frightened to before, but now that she could see him thoroughly, she knew. _

_The person in front of her was not really Dai Takeshi. It looked like him, and sounded like him, but Hinata knew it wasn't him. _

_But…who, no, what was that thing in front of her? _

_This being in front of her wasn't human, Hinata soon realized. _

_Hinata could feel the malicious intent roll off of it in demonic waves. _

"_W-what are y-you?" she sputtered, terrified. _

_The monster smiled sinisterly, and shifted forms. _

"_**So you did realize…"**_

_Hinata gasped when the creature finished transforming. Now, it had taken the shape of her…except, it wasn't her. The Hinata she was staring into the eyes of was a monster, a demon. Her eyes were crimson, her pupils were thin slits, her fangs were visible under her sinister grin, and her fingernails had grown into claws._

"_**I'm you."**_

_Hinata felt as if her heart had stopped when she heard the monster talk. Its voice sent shivers down her spine and she couldn't bring herself to do anything except shake her head. _

_That couldn't be right…that couldn't be her. _

'_I'm…not a monster…'_

"_**Wrong," **__the other Hinata corrected as she took a step forward, __**"you are me and I am you. We are one in the same." **_

_Hinata's eyes widened when the demon vanished without a trace. Hinata had no time to move, however, for a moment later and the demon reappeared inches from her face. She could smell the decay on its breath as it whispered to her. _

"_**And you know this. Deep inside, you do." **_

_Hinata quavered under the stare of those blood red eyes. _

"_N-n-no—"_

"_**YES!"**__ the other Hinata barked. __**"Deny it all you want, but it will not make it any less true."**_

_It wasn't true, she wasn't a monster. Kakashi had reassured her of that fact when she asked why Takeshi had called her one._

_Hinata covered her ears and shut her eyes and tried to back away from her doppelgänger. However, before she could even take a single step back, her throat was grabbed and she was pulled closer. Hinata could feel herself being consumed by the demon's raw power. It burned more than anything she had ever experienced._

"_Y…you a…are a demon!" Hinata gasped out; she couldn't breathe because of the pressure. _

"_**Yes, and so are you!" **__the demon snarled in her ear with a bloodthirsty grin. _

_Hinata tried to shake her head, but couldn't. The hand that grabbed her was holding her too tightly._

"_**I am you, and you are me,"**__ the monster repeated. __**"And we're the reason that man, the one you call brother, will die; the reason why the entire village that stood against you, will burn to the ground!" **_

"_N-n-no…" _

_The monster forced Hinata to her knees, making her look at her reflection in the pool of red that formed around Kakashi's unmoving body._

_As her eyes made contact with her reflection, Hinata felt as if her breath had been kicked out of her. Staring back at her were the same eyes that the demon possessed. _

_She was a monster. _

_Hinata closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, terrified. She didn't want to believe that. Kakashi promised she wasn't a monster. Promised her. She had to believe him._

_Closing her eyes, she waited for someone—anyone— to wake her up. It wasn't true. She wasn't a demon. This wasn't real, she tried to reassure herself. It was all a dream; a terrible, terrible nightmare._

"_**Just accept it; you will be much happier if you do. Accept that we were born only to kill, to maim, and to destroy!" **__the creature hissed. __**"Accept it and soon you'll finally be free, truly free, of all of those human emotions that hold you back from your true potential! You'll never amount to anything if you don't. You'll forever be tied down and weak!" **_

"_N…no…Kakashi-niisan p…promised he'd m…make me strong!" Hinata gasped out between her sobs._

"_**He lied, don't you see that? Why else would he refuse to train you?! His reasoning was just an excuse, and you believed him! He wants you to stay weak, just like everyone else does! He is afraid of you, just like everyone else is! He would rather you died than ever reach your full potential!"**_ _the demon roared._ _**"He hates you…with every part of his being, he does. EVERYONE HATES YOU!"**_

_Tears rolled down Hinata's face as she listened to the demon talk. _

'_Kakashi-niisan…help me…'_

_She couldn't believe he hated her. She refused. He had shown her kindness like no other in the last six months she lived with him. _

_He wasn't faking._

_HE WASN'T!_

_The monster pulled Hinata back up to her feet when it realized she didn't believe it. _

"_**Nothing and nobody will save you!"**_ the demon growled._** "You wanted to see this to the end, remember? And now you will. You should have given up earlier, but you did not. You fought through, and succeeded, and now I have you. You are MINE. We will finally be one. And, when you do wake up, no one will be safe from our wrath. NO ONE!" **_

_The demon chuckled, the screeching sound sent shivers down Hinata's spine; it was unlike anything she had ever heard before._

"_**And that pathetic excuse of a human, the one that you call brother, will be the first to die! He's the reason I couldn't get out sooner. I was so close to being free when that man, the one who I wish I could thank, attacked you. You had almost given in to me, to your inner demon, but then he came. He came, and ruined everything!" **_

"_I w…won't l…let y…you" Hinata wheezed out, trying to fight back. _

_She couldn't breathe. Even if it was a dream, everything that was happening felt real. _

"_**That's the thing, you don't have a choice!" **__the monster retorted. _

_The thought of Kakashi being hurt filled her with confidence. She refused to believe this demon. She couldn't let this demon beat her. She couldn't. Kakashi's life rested in her hands._

"_There's always a choice. ALWAYS!" she shouted, as she pulled herself from the demon's clutches._

_Hinata could feel a strength she didn't know she possessed, fill her; it started as a tickle in her stomach, but soon the warmth of it spread throughout her entire body. She would not let this demon control her. She was her own person and would make her own choices. _

_She would not succumb to the demon even if the only person who would ever truly love her was Kakashi. She would protect him—her precious person—and the village he loved so dearly, no matter what. _

_That was a promise._

_And she would never break that promise. _

_The demon's eyes widened in shock as it felt Hinata push its hand away. It was not expecting it. However, after the shock wore off, it charged forward ready to attack._

"_**We'll see about that!"**__ it hissed._

_Hinata jumped back, and as she did, the veins around her eyes began to protrude and her vision increased dramatically. She stood still in awe._

_She could see everything. _

_In all directions she could see. _

_She could even see through the demon that was attacking her._

_This vision, whatever it was, made her feel in control. When she was able to see like this, she couldn't help but feel powerful, confident, and ready. _

_She would win! _

"_I WILL NEVER LET YOU HURT KAKASHI-NIISAN! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!" she shouted, her voice was filled with confidence._

_As the demon closed in, its claws ready to tear into flesh, Hinata formed a fist with her own hand. And just like Kakashi had showed her before, she ducked under her attacker's hand and let loose an attack of her own. Hinata's punch collided with the demon's stomach, and as it did, she felt the power that had built up earlier release from her hand. With her increased vision, she watched the brilliant, blue energy flow from her hand and into the demon. _

_The demon let out a mangled cry as it flew backward; it crashed heavily to the ground a few feet away. It wasn't moving. _

_Her lips turned upward into a smile._

'_I did it…I won.'_

_Hinata felt her newfound energy leave her as her vision went back to normal and soon she too fell to the ground, helpless. _

'_This had to have been a dream…' Hinata thought to herself as she closed her eyes. 'I'll wake up any minute now—'_

_The sound of malicious laughter filled Hinata's head. Dread filled her chest as her eyes snapped opened. She could barely move let alone fight back. _

_She was done. _

_Tears filled her eyes. She had failed. _

'_No…' she denied. _

"_**YES!" **__the demon snarled as it pounced on top of her. _

_The claws of the demon pierced her flesh, causing Hinata to cry out in pain. _

"_**You're nothing but a weak human… did you really think that would beat me, the Kyūbi no Yōko?!"**_

_Hinata's eyes widened. That couldn't be right, the fox was dead. This couldn't be the demon that had attacked the village on the day of her birth. Even she had heard the story of the demon's fate that day. _

"_**That's where you are wrong! I couldn't be killed, so they had me imprisoned. First it was into Uzumaki Mito, then into your mother and now you! They all lied to you. EVERYONE LIED TO YOU! Can't you see that?" **__the Kyūbi sneered._ _**"Now do you believe me when I say you are a demon?!"**_

'_This can't be right…'_

'_But it is…'_

'_No…'_

'_Yes…'_

'_No…'_

'_YES!'_

_The demon smiled when he noticed the internal battle she was having with herself. He almost had her…just a little more…_

_Hinata screamed out when she felt the red, demonic chakra fill her. It burned her to her very core as it had before, and made it so she couldn't breathe once more. Her chest felt weighed down from the thick, evil energy that surrounded her. It filled her lungs, heart, everything. No part of her was safe from that red, vile chakra. Hinata couldn't move, and all she could feel was the anger build within her heart. _

_Anger at everyone, everything…_

_She needed to kill!_

_She needed to destroy!_

_She needed her revenge!_

"_**I'VE GOT YOU!" **__the demon roared triumphantly, having finally gained control._

* * *

><p><em>.<em>

_._

_._

* * *

><p>Kakashi's eyes snapped opened, and out of instinct he flew from his bed and into a battle ready stance. From under his pillow, he had fluidly grabbed his emergency kunai, and waited. There was only one thing that ever caused Kakashi to awaken from his sleep abruptly, and that was when he felt endangered. He had trained his body to fall asleep and awaken at will, any well trained shinobi could. It was a skill they had to perfect. They wouldn't survive if they couldn't do this one, simple action. Sleep was very important, after all, and sometimes a shinobi had to sleep in unsafe territories.<p>

A quick sweep of his room told him that whatever danger there was, it was not in the room with him.

'_Strange, I've never been wrong before…'_

And that's when he remembered he wasn't alone anymore. It had been six months and he still woke up thinking he was sometimes.

"Hinata!"

Wasting no time, he rushed to Hinata's room. It was then that he realized the thickness in the air was the same as eight years ago, although not as strong.

'_The Kyūbi?!'_

As he slammed opened the door, he noticed the vile, red chakra of the demon seeping from Hinata's small frame. Rushing forward, he tried to hold the trembling girl down, but it was to no avail. Her eyes rolled back into her head as seizures coursed through her. The seal wasn't going to be able to hold the demon back much longer if it kept up.

'_Shit, I won't be able to hold her down much longer!' _Kakashi thought, as he grimaced in pain; the red chakra flowing from her was burning his hands.

After another minute passed by Kakashi couldn't help but release her. The pain in his hands had become unbearable, and when he looked at his hands he realized the chakra had easily left second degree burns.

"Dammit!" Kakashi cursed.

The pain in his hands was excruciating. He, as most ninja had, had suffered burns before, but what he felt in his hands was one of the worst pains he had ever experienced. The chakra was poisoning them, causing the pain to be ten times worse than it would have been originally.

'_Not good!' _Kakashi thought, as he examined them more closely;hishands were useless as they were.

He could barely move them, let alone seal with them. And, if he didn't do something soon, he and the rest of village were going to be in deep shit.

The sound of Hinata shouting brought Kakashi from his thoughts.

"I WILL NEVER LET YOU HURT KAKASHI-NIISAN! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!"

Kakashi had to shield his eyes from the brilliant colored chakra that burst from her body. When his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed something amazing: Hinata had awakened her Byakugan.

She hadn't really had any formal training and she was able to unseal it?

Kushina, the best seal master he knew, designed it and yet Hinata was able to break it?

'_And that's not it!'_ Kakashi thought excitedly when he noticed that the Kyūbi's crimson chakra was being pushed back.

Hinata was fighting back the demon, and surprisingly, she was winning!

"You can do it Hinata!" Kakashi exclaimed in awe.

And, almost as soon as it started, it ended. Hinata's body fell still once more. She lied peacefully in her bed, as if nothing had ever happened.

Kakashi moved closer and slowly lowered his head. _'She's still breathing, that's a relief. Heartbeat seems normal, pulse is regular—'_

His thought was cut short when he noticed Hinata's eyes snap open. The veins around her eyes had flared once more, and her irises were now completely red. Kakashi had no time to move as twice as much of the blood colored chakra poured out from her. Instead he took the full impact of the chakra, and flew back.

The pain he was feeling made his hands look like child's play. His whole body burned, from his head to his toes. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't shake the feeling; no part of him had come unscathed from the chakra.

He was dying from chakra poisoning.

Hinata was shrouded in a crimson cloak of chakra, with three tails flowing behind her, violently. A fourth was beginning to take shape.

'_Shit!'_ was the only thing he was capable of thinking.

Backing up, he tried to crawl out of the room. He needed to get help, if he didn't he was going to die. However, he was unable to move fast enough.

Almost faster than his eyes could follow, Hinata sprang forward with her clawed hand.

"**I'VE GOT YOU!"** the possessed Hinata roared in triumph, in a voice that was not her own.

Hinata's now clawed hand easily puncture Kakashi in the abdomen as she threw him like a rag doll across the room.

A groan escaped his lips as he slammed against the wall—hard—his head taking the majority of the impact.

Kakashi could feel his eyes losing focus, his head spinning.

'_Damnit…!' _

Hinata's red, anger-filled eyes turned toward Kakashi as the corners of her lips turned upward into an ominous grin.

"HINATA!" He yelled out, hoping it would bring her to her senses.

And, for a moment, it did. Her eyes flashed from blood red to light lavender. She was still fighting for control. She was still in there!

He absolutely needed to bring her back.

"Please come back to me, Hinata! Fight the demon! Fight it!" he said. "I know you're in there Hinata, so please…please come back!"

His words fell on deaf ears, however.

Kakashi closed his eyes as she rushed forward as he knew that he wouldn't be able to evade in his condition. The sinister chakra was draining him of energy, not to mention he was bleeding quite a bit from the puncture wound in his side and his head was still spinning from the impact it had taken before.

"K…Kakashi-niisan…"

Hinata's soft voice caused Kakashi's eyes to snap open.

Hinata was crouched mere inches in front of him; her clawed hand was shaking violently over his chest. Her once red eyes were flashing lavender as tears fell down her face.

"I'm s…sorry…" she whimpered.

In the blink of an eye, Hinata once again lost consciousness and her clawed hand pierced through his chest, missing his heart by millimeters. His left lung was not so lucky, however.

A cough erupted from his throat, and blood followed soon afterward.

He was going to die.

He knew this.

The one he had come to think of as family was going to kill him.

'_I guess this is what I deserve.'_ Kakashi thought, sadly. _'Wouldn't you agree, Rin, Obito…?'_

Dying was different than he had ever imagined it. He always thought he'd either die in excruciating pain, or it would be so quick that he wouldn't have time to realize what had happened. That wasn't the case, though. There was no pain anymore as his body was numb, and he was aware of the fact that he was dying.

His eyes started to close; he was exhausted. His mind was now calm.

'_So this is what dying is like? It's not so bad …'_

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p><em>Hinata's body felt light, it was almost like she was floating. <em>

'_Where am I?'_

'_Why is it so dark?'_

'_I'm so tired…'_

'_**Then sleep…'**_

'_Who is that?'_

'_What is that?'_

"_**Does it really matter?"**_

'…_no?'_

"_**Then Sleep..."**_

"…_**sleep."**_

_The voice continued to echo in her ear, lulling her into a deeper slumber. _

_Sleep…it sounded so nice to her._

_She was so tired…_

_So very, very tired. _

'_I want to sleep…'_

'…_I should just sleep.'_

"_**Yes…all of your problems will be gone if you just sleep—"**_

_The voice that was whispering to her was cut of abruptly. _

"_HINATA!" _

'_K…Kakashi-niisan…?'_

_Why was Kakashi yelling her name? _

_Didn't he realize all she wanted to do was sleep? _

_But it did sound important…_

_Maybe she should open her eyes?_

"_**Ignore him…and sleep,"**__ the voice started up again. _

_And once again Hinata could feel her mind becoming heavier and heavier. The more the voice whispered, the more exhausted she felt. _

"_**Sleep..."**_

"…_**sleep."**_

"…_**sleep." **_

'_I want to sleep, Kakashi-niisan. Let me sleep. Come back later…'_

_However, no matter how much she willed it, Kakashi's voice just wouldn't let up. _

"_Please come back to me, Hinata! Fight the demon! Fight it!"_

_Demon?_

_What demon?_

_There was no demon._

_There was only her._

_She was alone. _

'_Kakashi-niisan, there is no demon…'_

"_I know you're in there Hinata, so please…please come back!" she heard him yell frantically. _

'_But I'm tired Kakashi…I just want to sleep. I'm fine…'_

_However, as she thought this, a feeling of unease filled her. _

_Kakashi was now quiet. _

_Something didn't feel right._

_His silence bothered her. _

'_K…Kakashi-niisan…?'_

_A sense of foreboding filled her._

_Something was wrong._

_Something terrible had happened. _

_She needed to wake up, her brother needed her._

_Kakashi needed help._

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>After what felt like an eternity, Hinata's eyes fluttered opened. She had ignored the voice that lulled her to sleep, and was fighting to wake up.<p>

It was hard.

Something was wrong with Kakashi and he needed her.

She needed to help him after all he had done for her.

She needed to help her brother.

"K-kakashi-niisan…?" She whispered, not sure what was happening.

Her voice was hoarse, and no part of her felt fine. The pain she was in was unbearable, but she had to force herself through it for Kakashi's sake.

Hinata's head felt clouded. She couldn't think straight.

Why was everything so dark still?

Why did the room feel as if it were spinning?

Why was she in so much pain?

Before her mind cleared, Hinata heard the voice of the person whom she was trying to see.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't save you, Hinata. I don't blame you…for this." Kakashi whispered.

What was he talking about?

He wasn't making sense…

What didn't he blame her for?

Did she do something wrong?

His voice pulled her out of her haze, and her senses returned to her, though at that moment, she wished it had not.

Hinata's eyes opened wide at what she saw.

Her bare hand was sticking through Kakashi's chest; she was drenched in his blood.

"I d…don't blame y…you. It's n…not y…your fault." Kakashi coughed once more before he lost consciousness.

The dream from earlier came rushing back to her at that moment.

_No._

This couldn't be happening.

_No._

This was a dream, too.

_No._

It had to be a dream.

_No._

Kakashi wasn't dying, she hadn't killed him.

_No._

Hinata watched in horror as his eyes closed, his body was no longer moving.

_No._

He was gone.

_No._

And it was all her fault.

_No._

She killed him just as the demon said she would.

_No._

She was a monster.

"**NO!"**

Her eyes turned crimson once more.

She couldn't keep the demon back.

Not anymore.

It had won.

"**FINALLY!"** the Kyūbi roared.

Hinata had a stronger will than it had first thought, but none of that mattered now!

It was finally free!

Free to take revenge on the village!

No one would be spared!

However, before the demon could so much as move a muscle, golden chains of chakra wrapped around it, keeping it in place.

The chains were familiar…

When the demon figured it out, however, it was already too late.

No matter how much the demon fought, it couldn't break them. These were the same kind of chains that kept him sealed long ago, but not as strong. However, the demon was nowhere near full strength and the chains had no problem keeping the demon at bay.

The Kyūbi was too busy trying to break free that it never even noticed the woman with red hair approach.

"Five Elements Seal!" Kushina shouted as her chakra laced palm slammed into Hinata's belly, sealing the demonic chakra away almost instantly.

It was only a temporary seal, as an odd numbered seal over an even one would be too unbalanced. She would come up with a more permanent solution later. However, it worked fine for what she needed it for, and that was what mattered.

Hinata's eyes returned to soft lavender, revealing to Kushina that her Byakugan was unsealed, before her body slumped forward in unconsciousness.

As soon as Kushina realized she was no longer a threat, she turned and rushed to Kakashi's side.

"KAKASHI!"

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>"<em>H….ta…"<em>

_A noise filled Hinata's dream. She couldn't quite make out what it was, however. _

"_Hi….a….t…"_

_A voice, that's what it was._

_Someone was talking to her, now she just needed to figure out what the person trying to say. _

_Slowly she began to fight against the sleep that was clouding her mind. _

_She wanted to hear who was talking to her._

_It was hard, though. _

_It was hard to wake up._

_Her mind felt so foggy, and heavy._

"_Hi…hi…na…ta"_

_Her name._

_That's what the voice was trying to say. _

_But who could it be?_

_And why were they calling for her?_

_Did she do something wrong? _

"_Hin…ata…" _

_The voice was clearer now, but she still couldn't quite make it out._

'_I need to wake up now…' Hinata thought tiredly, trying to pull her mind from the deep slumber it was currently stuck. _

"_Hinata….Hinata. Can you hear me?"_

_Yes. _

_She could finally hear. _

_Responding was another thing, though._

_She needed to open her eyes._

_She needed to let whoever it was talking know that she heard. _

Hinata groaned as her eyes fluttered opened. The light was blinding.

It only took a moment more for her eyes to adjust to the light, however.

"Wh…where a…am I?" Hinata muttered when she noticed it wasn't her room she was in.

She was in the hospital. But what was she doing there? The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her bed, so why was her body so sore?

"Hinata-chan!" a woman exclaimed, while wrapping her arms around Hinata.

Hinata knew that voice; it was Kushina.

Hinata stiffened. While her anger towards Kushina had started to diminish over the months, she still hadn't forgiven her yet. Not fully, anyway. The hug was too much for her.

Kushina, realizing her mistake, quickly let go.

"W-why a-am I here?" Hinata asked quietly, her eyes downcast.

"There was…" Hinata missed Kushina pause while she shared a look with her husband. "…an accident."

"A-accident?" she asked, confused.

That's when she noticed it…

Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

Her eyes widened in fear.

"W-where's K-kakashi-niisan?"

Kushina sighed as her shoulders slumped forward which did not go unnoticed by Hinata.

The dejected look in Kushina's teary eyes answered the question before her sobs were able to.

"H..he's been h…hurt, Hinata-chan…"

_**End.**_

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

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><p><strong>This was originally going to be a part of a larger chapter, but I decided this would be a good place to end it. The chapter just didn't flow right if I didn't end it here. Next chapter will be out soon, though, since it's almost done (just got to finish it up and edit it)! It won't take me months to update this time. <strong>

**I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I'm kind of in the middle of liking it and not liking it. Might go back and revise it at some point, but for now I'll just keep it as it is. I've been working on it too long now…**

**Anyways, the next chapter will be the last one before Hinata enters the Academy.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if not, that's fine too! **

**Until next time… **


	7. The Princess

_**How Things Change:  
><strong>__**Chapter VI~ The Princess**_

* * *

><p><em>Be-eeep<em>

_Be-eeep_

_Be-eeep_

A low, annoying humming sound filled Kakashi's peaceful dream. He was enjoying himself and was just about to get to the good part in his new Icha Icha novel. However, his reading was being interrupted by the unwanted noise. He wanted it to stop, but it would not.

It just kept on buzzing.

'_If I ignore it, it'll turn off eventually…._' Kakashi thought sleepily, thinking the beeping noise was coming from his alarm clock.

It always went off when he got to the good part in his dreams_. _

'_I'll just sleep five more minutes, I'm sure Hinata won't mind—'_

As soon as Hinata entered his thoughts, however, his eyes snapped open and he shot up out of the bed he was lying in. The memory of what had happened returned to him.

"HINATA!" he shouted as he pulled the blankets off of him.

A sharp pain shot through his chest at the sudden movement, but he ignored it. He needed to find Hinata, that's all that mattered. The pain could wait.

Looking around the room, he realized he was no longer home. He was surrounded by white walls, and the strong smell of antiseptic spray filled his nose. He'd know where he was with his eyes blindfolded by that horrible stench alone.

The Hospital.

"…how'd I get here?" he muttered, his brains still foggy, as he started to remove the IV drip from his arm.

Before he could move another inch, however, a nurse rushed into room. Her shoes made loud squeaking noises as she scurried across the tiled floor.

"Hatake -san, you must lay back down! Your wounds haven't healed yet! You're going to reopen them if you keep this up," she stated with worry in her voice as she attempted to gently push him back onto the bed.

The nurse hated dealing with shinobi sometimes; they rarely listened to what their caregivers said, and believed they could do whatever they wanted while recuperating. They made the doctor's job so much harder than it needed to be.

"I can't. It's an emergency. I need to find Hinata!" Kakashi exclaimed, trying to push the nurse away without hurting her.

His body was very weak, though, and he barely pushed her back an inch.

As his mind became more awake, he realized that he vaguely remembered hearing Kushina's voice before he fully passed out. He couldn't remember anything after that, however.

"Where is Kushina and Minato-sensei?" Kakashi asked, thinking the worse.

They couldn't have possibly failed. Could they?

'_Don't be stupid Kakashi…do you really think you would be alive and in the hospital right now if they had failed?'_ he asked himself silently.

Before the nurse could respond, someone else joined them in the room.

"I'll take care of this, Hitomi. I'll make sure this idiot doesn't get up. You can go now."

The nurse's eyes widened when she realized who had spoken to her.

"Ah, Kushina-sama! Yes— right, of course. I'll just go, then."

Bowing her head, the flustered nurse rushed from the room. When she opened the door, however, Minato walked in.

"Have a good day, Hitomi-san," he said tiredly.

"You too, Hokage-sama!" the nurse squeaked as she shut the door behind her.

She had obviously never met the Hokage or his wife before, that much was certain. The reaction of the nurse amused Minato slightly.

Kakashi looked to Minato when the nurse vanished.

"Where-is-Hinata-is-she-okay-what happened-and-how-did-I-get-here?" Kakashi asked, almost too fast to hear.

"Slow down, Kakashi. Hinata is fine. She isn't hurt in the slightest, just exhausted. She is sleeping right now, and doesn't remember anything that happened when the Kyūbi tried taking over. We told her a jutsu you were working on backfired, and that you were hurt because of it. Now enough about her, it's you we were all worried about," Minato said as he forced Kakashi to lie back down. "Stay there and don't get back up."

It wasn't hard for Minato to get him to lie back down. After Kakashi heard the words 'Hinata is fine' the adrenaline he was running on disappeared completely. Now all he could focus on was the pain he was in. It was worse than that time he took a fully powered hit from an Akimichi….

"What happened?" Kakashi moaned out as he winced; the memory of what had exactly happened was still foggy. "And how long have I been here?"

Minato was about to respond, but before he could, Kushina's shrill voice entered Kakashi's ears.

"You got injured, that's what happened. You had Minato and I worried sick! Why didn't you summon us? You know you could have easily. Minato entrusted one of his kunai to you just in case something like this ever happened!" Kushina cried out.

She obviously didn't take worrying very well.

Kakashi felt like a child being scolded. He knew she was just worried about him, but he still felt like he didn't deserve it.

"I didn't think. Everything happened so fast. I was sleeping and all of a sudden I felt the very air get…" he tried to think of the word to use, "heavy? I don't know how to explain it. But I knew something was wrong. It took me a moment more to realize it was the Kyūbi's chakra I was feeling."

Kushina sighed. She knew she wasn't treating Kakashi right. It wasn't his fault.

"I know, I'm sorry, Kakashi. I was just worried about you…" Kushina left off.

She had known him ever since he was put on Minato's team. He was like family to her.

"I'm okay, so you don't have to worry. I am perfectly fine, it's just a little bit of…" he moved to sit up once more, only to wince, "p…pain—did the medics even try to heal me?"

He knew he sounded like a child whining, but at the moment he couldn't care less. He had been in pain before, but this feeling was something new. Something he was not accustomed to. He was only able to ignore it at first because he was so worried about Hinata. Now, however, the pain had all come back to him.

Minato nodded slowly, "They did, Kakashi. They tried their best. It's just…nothing they tried worked."

"W…why?" Kakashi asked, between gasps. The pain was making it hard to breathe.

Minato looked toward his wife, "You'd probably do a better job explaining this. You are the one who had sensed it, after all."

Kushina nodded. "The reason your wounds couldn't be healed by the medical team is because they've been contaminated by the Kyūbi's chakra."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow inquiringly, "What does that mean, exactly? Will my wounds ever heal?"

"We're not sure. According to Chie, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that your own body's chakra attacks the foreign entity, ultimately removing it from your body. If this happened, she said, it would then be possible to heal your wounds. However, she also said this process of removal—if it is indeed possible—would probably be slow going and you could be stuck in the hospital for as long as half a year. Even so, if it did work, she believes you could make a full recovery," Kushina said slowly.

Stuck in the hospital for half a year?

Kakashi did not like the thought of that.

But it was probably a lot better than the second possibility.

"And the s…second possible outcome?" Kakashi asked, already assuming the answer.

Kushina looked over to Minato, sadness flashed across her eyes. Looking back toward Kakashi, she sighed.

"Are you sure you want to know?" she asked gently.

Kakashi nodded. "Y…yes I need to know. And d…don't leave anything out."

"The second, and most likely, outcome is that the foreign chakra will take over and spreads throughout your entire body, kind of like a virus. Your wounds would not heal, but instead would get worse, and your body would no longer be able to protect itself from infections because the chakra would ultimately kill your immune system. T-this…would be very painful, and in the end…in the end—" Kushina bit her quivering lip.

She was having trouble continuing.

"Keep g…going," Kakashi said.

"And in the end you would…you would…d—die," Kushina's voice cracked.

Kakashi just lied there, taking it in, with his eyes closed. He already knew what she was going to say, but actually hearing it—hearing you were probably going to die soon—was hard, even for him. He had faced death countless amounts of times, but dying protecting his village and those he loved was different somehow. Lying in a hospital bed, withering away felt wrong. It made him feel useless. His death would serve no purpose.

An awkward silence filled the room. Minutes passed by before Kakashi spoke again.

"Could y…you seal the chakra away?" he asked.

Kushina shook her head. "I could, but I'm not a medic. If something started to go wrong, I would be powerless to stop it. And right now there isn't a medic here strong enough to help me."

"I see."

Minato then cut in.

"Listen to me, Kakashi. I will not let you die, I promise you I won't. We will do anything that needs to be done to save you. We've already sent out a message to Tsunade. She's the best medic around. If she can't save you than nobody can."

"W…will she even return?" Kakashi had his doubts as he knew of her reputation. Everyone did.

Minato nodded, "She has to because she made me a promise a long time ago."

"A p…promise?" Kakashi asked, confused.

He never knew of any promises.

"Yes, she promised to return to the village whenever Hinata's Byakugan was unsealed," Minato answered.

The memory of Hinata's Byakugan flaring to life flashed across his mind.

"I f…forgot all a…about that…" Kakashi murmured. "How w…was she able to break the seal? Wasn't it supposed to be unbreakable?"

Kushina chimed in, "No seal is truly unbreakable. Her will was stronger than the seal I created. She wanted to save you more than anything in the world, so she subconsciously forced the seal to release itself. Her love for you was why she was able to unseal her Byakugan. She found a power within herself that allowed her to fight back as long as she had."

Kakashi nodded. He knew he couldn't leave Hinata, his sister. He had to stay hopeful and fight as hard as possible for her sake.

"H…how long until Tsunade arrives?"

Minato thought, "I'd say three days, at most. The messenger frog I sent will fill her in on how important this is, and why she must return."

"Where will H…Hinata go while I'm stuck h…here?"

"We've arranged for Yūhi Kurenai to watch over her. We would have let her stay with us, but we know Hinata still doesn't trust us. Kurenai was the best choice since Hinata has already met her because of you, and has started forming a bond with her," Kushina said.

Kakashi nodded. "I see…"

It was true; Hinata had begun to take a liking to Kurenai. Kakashi and Kurenai had been friends for a while. People assumed they were together because they often went out for drinks together, but their relationship was strictly platonic. They were merely friends and comrades, nothing more.

Plus, Kakashi knew he'd have one angry Sarutobi chasing after him if he ever made a move on _his_ Kurenai.

The reason Hinata became acquainted with Kurenai in the first place was because Kurenai had begun to visit him at his home. She told him it was because he wasn't able to go out drinking with her like he used to, but he knew better. He knew she was just making sure he was treating Hinata right, and raising her right.

Hinata, sensing that Kakashi trusted her completely, slowly began opening up to her. It also helped that Hinata knew Kurenai was one of the people who had guarded her after she had been attacked, and she was grateful for that. There was still a long way to go before she fully trusted her, but it was a start.

Kurenai really was the best person to watch over her at the moment.

While sitting there, Kakashi felt his head start to become foggy again. His pain was lessening as well, so he assumed it meant a new dose of pain medication was dripping into him.

'_I wish it would have sooner,'_ he thought, tiredly.

Both Minato and Kushina noticed what was happening.

"We'll bring Hinata in later to see you," Kushina said to him before he completely lost consciousness.

Before he could respond, the dark clutches of sleep overtook him.

* * *

><p>.<p>

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* * *

><p>Kurenai sighed. She was really worried about Hinata.<p>

She wouldn't eat.

She wouldn't sleep.

She had barely even moved from Kakashi's side.

Kurenai herself was worried for her friend, but she tried not to dwell on it. She needed to be strong and optimistic for Hinata's sake. It was hard, though; Hinata could see through her façade.

"Hinata, Kakashi would want you to eat," she said quietly, trying to get her attention.

Hinata only shook her head.

"I'm not hungry…"

Kurenai sighed, "You need to eat, Hinata. You won't have any strength if you don't…"

Hinata looked to Kurenai from the corner of her eyes.

"Then why haven't you eaten?"

Kurenai sucked in air; so she had noticed.

Kurenai knew it was hypocritical of her to try and get Hinata to stop worrying so much when she herself was, but she couldn't stop herself. She had to try to help her.

"Hinata…"

A day had pass since Kakashi had awoken at the Hospital, then two, and three….

The Hokage had promised Hinata that she would arrive on the third day, but she had yet to. Soon, it would be going on the fourth day, and that could already be too late.

Whatever had happened to Kakashi was bad and he was not getting better, only worse. They tried to tell her he was looking better every day that passed, but she knew it wasn't true.

He was going to die if nothing changed soon, probably within the next twenty four hours. She knew this, they knew this but they continued to lie about it. They thought it was making her feel better, but the lies hurt just as bad as the truth would because she knew that they were all lies.

Hinata couldn't help but feel as if it were her fault this had happened. She couldn't remember doing anything, but deep down she had a feeling it was her fault….

Tears filled Hinata's eyes; she couldn't take it anymore.

"They lied to me…"

Kurenai's heart broke hearing her speak. She was reverting back to her old self.

Kurenai, being friends with Kakashi, had seen firsthand that Hinata was starting to heal while living with Kakashi. However, if Kakashi died, she knew it all would have been for nothing. Hinata would close herself off again. It would be as if she had never made any progress in opening back up.

Wrapping her arms around the shaking girl, she whispered soothing words into her ear, "Everything will be okay, Hinata-chan. You'll see. Kakashi will be okay. He isn't going to be leaving you anytime soon."

Hinata could only shake her head in response as she buried her face in Kurenai's chest.

"Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not lying, Hinata-chan," Kurenai whispered trying to soothe her. "Kakashi wouldn't want—"

Before Kurenai could finish her sentence, however, Hinata interrupted her angrily.

"Kakashi-niisan lied to me, too, just like everyone else! He promised to always be there for me, but he lied!" her sobs cracked her voice. "H-h-he's g-g-going to l-l-leave me l-l-like everyone else!"

Kurenai was taken aback from her outburst, but only for a moment. Her arms tightened around Hinata's shoulders.

"It's okay. Everything will work out, Hinata. You'll see."

Before Kurenai could say anymore, a loud commotion outside of the door filled the room.

Kurenai, being a trained Kunoichi, subconsciously prepared for an attack by pushing Hinata behind her protectively.

'_Could someone be trying to come after Hinata?'_ she thought, unsure of what was happening outside of the door; whatever it was, it was stirring up quite a fuss.

Seconds dragged by before the handle on the door began to turn. Kurenai tensed, ready to strike if push came to shove.

However, when the door burst opened she was in for a surprise.

A blonde haired, big breasted woman walked into the room without a care in the world. Following close behind her was a young, black haired woman, about Kurenai's age, who was holding a small pig in her arms. Behind them both were Minato and Kushina.

"Okay, so where is this patient I'm supposed to heal?"

Kurenai stared at her agape.

This was the legendary slug princess?

She didn't look much older than herself!

Wasn't she supposed to be in her mid-forties?

Kurenai had neither met nor seen any pictures of Tsunade before. The only information she knew about her came from stories.

And those stories never mentioned that Tsunade liked to hide her true self behind a transformation.

Tsunade, becoming annoyed at the lack of response, narrowed her eyes.

"It's not polite to ignore someone when they speak to you."

Kurenai, snapping back to reality, bowed formally, "Tsunade-sama! I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness! I was just taken by surprise; I did not know it was you…."

"Think nothing of it…" Tsunade said delightfully.

She kind of enjoyed hearing the _sama_ at the end of her name.

"Why can't you be more respectful like that, Shizune?"

Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, planted her face into her hand. _'Why did I ever agree to follow her again…?'_

"Maybe if you didn't gamble so much…" Shizune started to say, before Tsunade covered her mouth.

Whispering in her ear she said, "Finish saying that and all you'll be doing is bathing the elderly for a month…and I'll make sure that the Akimichi elders are at the top of the list."

Shizune's eyes filled with horror. The thought of old, hairy, naked, fat men filled her thoughts.

'_No!'_

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said as she bowed deeply before her teacher.

Tsunade smiled smugly. "I thought you would have a change of heart."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow in confusion; she never expected Tsunade to act so immature.

Minato, seeing Kurenai's confusion, stepped forward.

"Tsunade, this is Kurenai. She just recently got promoted to Tokubetsu Jōnin and is one of our most talented Genjutsu specialists. It won't be long before she makes full Jōnin, I am sure of it."

Kurenai blushed lightly at the praise she was getting from the Hokage.

Tsunade nodded her head. "Nice to meet you."

"And it's nice to meet you, too, Tsunade-sama!" Kurenai said as she bowed formally once again.

Hinata shyly poked her head out from behind Kurenai as she was bowing.

"Y-you're the one w-who is going to heal Kakashi-niisan?" she stuttered, feeling hope rise in her chest.

Tsunade's eyes widened when she noticed the small, frail looking girl.

The sight of Hinata caused Tsunade's heart to ache for her former student. Besides the hair and eye color, she was a spitting image of her mother.

'_Seiko…you would be proud of her…' _

It was then that Tsunade noticed something.

'_I thought her Byakugan was unsealed…?' _Tsunade thought. _'Maybe they resealed it until I got here?'_

She didn't believe Minato would lie to her, so she would get the full story later.

It took all of her willpower to not rush over to the girl and hold her tightly, but she knew she had work to do. She could spend time with her later.

"Yes…yes I will be the one who saves him," she answered slowly.

A smile lit up Hinata's face.

This caused a pang of loneliness to hit Tsunade.

She looked exactly like her mother; it was almost hard to look at her.

'_I need to be strong…!'_ Tsunade thought.

The loud sound of coughing brought everyone back to reality.

Kakashi, who had been lying still, was now thrashing on the bed, hacking up blood.

"Shizune! I need you to prepare a room for an emergency surgery!"

"Yes, M'lady!" Shizune exclaimed as she rushed from the room.

Her orders to the medical staff could be heard outside the door.

Another look toward Hinata caused Tsunade's heart to ache, but she did not rush over to her.

'_Now's not the time!'_ Tsunade thought as Kakashi's seizures worsened.

"Move it, kid; I've got work to do!" Tsunade stated urgently, pushing her out of the way gently.

Kurenai pulled Hinata away from the bed. "We have to go Hinata. She has work she needs to do, we will only get in the way."

Tears of joy flowed down Hinata's face. Using her sleeve, she tried to wipe them away.

"He'll be okay now, right? She is supposed to be the best, right? So he'll be fine?"

Kurenai remained silent. There was still a chance that this wouldn't work, a chance Kakashi could die.

She wasn't going to tell Hinata that. Why make her worry more?

Plus, she too wanted to believe he would make it. She didn't want her friend to die….

"That's right. Now come, Hinata, we must go..." Kurenai said while ushering her out of the room.

When they disappeared, Tsunade looked over to Kushina.

"I'll need your help extracting the chakra from his wounds. I know you said it could be dangerous, but it's his best shot at survival. I'll be able to tell if something goes wrong."

Kushina had absolute faith in the Sanin.

"Yes ma'am!" Kushina exclaimed, prepared to do whatever was needed.

Tsunade turned to Minato. "You can go as well; the room will be cramped as it is."

Minato nodded, not taking any offense to what she was saying. He knew he would only get in the way and that he could trust her. She was the expert in this field, not him.

"I understand. I have work I should be doing, anyway. Please let me know how it goes as soon as it's over."

He knew he would get no work done until he knew how the surgery turned out, however. He would be too worried to concentrate properly. And signing important document while you're not focusing is not a smart thing to do.

Walking over to Kushina, he lowered himself down to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Good luck. I have faith in you."

Kushina smiled, feeling less stressed. "Thanks."

Minato nodded toward his wife, before he too left the room.

Only a moment later, Shizune appeared in the room.

"I've gotten the room all set up!"

Tsunade nodded, while preparing to move Kakashi.

"Alright, girls, let's get the show on the road!" Tsunade bellowed out.

"Yes!" Kushina and Shizune stated together.

They all shared one thought.

'_This is going to be a long, long night…'_

* * *

><p>.<p>

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* * *

><p>Almost fourteen hours had passed before the operating room light turned off.<p>

Everyone who had been involved with the surgery was exhausted. Their chakra was almost drained, but other than that they were fine.

"We've done all that we can…" Tsunade said, as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

Shizune had collapsed on the ground, totally wiped out.

"W…why a…aren't you a…affected at a…all, Kushina-sama?" she gasped out.

It had been a long while since she had to do anything this strenuous.

Kushina, having naturally large chakra reserves, was quite surprised at how tired she felt as well. She was better off than Shizune, but she still felt pretty weak.

"I may not look it, but I'm really exhausted myself. One of the ups to having Uzumaki blood flowing through your veins is that you are naturally blessed with large chakra reserves and a huge amount of stamina." Kushina said. "Also, it took more chakra for you to heal Kakashi than it did for me to seal away the foreign chakra flowing inside of him."

It was true. While she did use quite a bit of chakra, it was nowhere near the amount the two medics had to use.

"What will you do with that scroll?" Tsunade asked Kushina curiously.

In her hand she held a scroll in which the Kyūbi's sinister chakra was sealed.

"Destroy it if I can. Having this fall into the wrong hands could be deadly," she replied, thinking carefully.

"And if it can't be destroyed?" Tsunade asked, curiously.

"It'll have to be locked up securely."

Tsunade nodded. "If it's possible…do you think I could study it? I'd like to find an easier way to heal someone if they ever got contaminated by its chakra again."

Kushina thought for a moment then said, "I don't see why not…but I'd have to be there with you just to make sure nothing went wrong and if it did go wrong, to seal it again."

"Sounds fine to me," Tsunade said with a smile.

"What exactly should I tell Minato and Hinata?" Kushina asked, ready to leave.

Her job was done now. Now it was up to Shizune and Tsunade to take care of Kakashi.

Tsunade's face broke out into a wide grin.

"Tell them," she began, "he'll make a full recovery!"

* * *

><p>.<p>

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* * *

><p>Three more days had passed since Kakashi had been operated on, and during that time Kakashi had shown a lot of progress. He was no longer in the pain he was before. The pain hadn't fully disappeared, but now it was at least manageable.<p>

While he couldn't be discharged just yet, he would be within the next couple of weeks, Tsunade said. Right now she wanted to make sure everything was healing correctly, and wanted to run in depth tests on him to make sure he wouldn't be affected in the long run from the Kyūbi's chakra.

Because Kakashi was doing so well, he couldn't help but feel antsy. He hated hospitals with a passion and never liked extended stays. It was boring, and the smell of the hospital always affected his nose; when he finally could get discharged, he was going to be smelling antiseptic spray for weeks.

'_Well…at least the nurses are nice to look at…'_ Kakashi thought with a perverted grin as a brunette nurse, with ample amounts of cleavage visible, walked by his room.

Kakashi was brought back from his perverted fantasies when two people walked in. The sight of them lifted his spirit.

"Kakashi-niisan!" Hinata exclaimed happily.

"Hey," Kurenai said with a wave.

Kakashi's mood brightened considerably as he talked to Hinata.

Kurenai watched Hinata with a smile on her face as she told Kakashi about all the stuff she had done while staying with her. Hinata was doing so much better now, she was happy to see. Kakashi being saved had changed Hinata for the better. She was making progress.

Hinata had been so relieved to hear that Tsunade and Shizune had saved him, that she slowly started to warm up to them.

The same could be said about Kushina since she had been a great help. And Minato was the reason that Tsunade had even returned. Hinata still didn't trust them completely but she didn't completely distrust them anymore, either.

'_If he hadn't called her back—_' Kurenai cut her own thought off. _'No I must not think that way. Everything turned out fine, stop thinking about what could have happened…'_

"Hey, Hinata, don't you have to see Inoichi today?" Kakashi asked, with a smile, though it wasn't visible through the mask.

It took a while, but Kakashi's mask no longer bothered her like it once had. While Hinata didn't understand why he wore it in public, she had come to accept it. Plus, he never wore it when they were alone, and it made her feel special that she was the only one who could see under it on a consistent basis.

"I do, but I wanted to give these to you before I went," Hinata said, as she held out the flowers. "Inoichi-san helped me pick them out at his shop, and said I could bring them to you first."

Kakashi accepted the flowers.

"Thank you, Hinata. That was really nice of you," he said.

The gesture made him happy.

'_I think this is the first time I ever got get well flowers from someone,'_ Kakashi thought; he had been hospitalized so many times that it amused him that this was the first time he had ever received flowers.

Hinata nodded.

"I have to go now, though, Kakashi-niisan. I'll come back when I'm done talking to Inoichi-san."

Kurenai nodded, "Yeah, we'll come back before visiting hours are over. I'll keep an eye on her until then."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright. Have fun with Inoichi, Hinata. Remember to open up to him as he is only trying to help you. "

Hinata nodded, "I'll try."

She then turned to leave. However, before she made it to the door, she turned back and hurriedly hugged Kakashi.

"I love you, Kakashi-niisan…get well soon so you can come home and be with me!"

Kakashi's eyes lit up from seeing her like this. She had come a long, long way over the months.

He could still see the pain in her young eyes, but it wasn't as noticeable anymore.

Before Kakashi could respond, Hinata rushed from the room with a blush on her face; she felt embarrassed.

"She misses you, Kakashi," Kurenai said with a smile as she followed after Hinata. "And I miss my drinking buddy, so you best get better soon. Or else."

"I know," Kakashi laughed as Kurenai closed the door behind her.

"She looked better…" Kakashi said to himself once his room was empty once more.

She had begun opening her heart back up, he could see.

First it was to him, then to Kurenai. Now she was becoming comfortable around Shizune and Tsunade.

She was also showing some improvement with Kushina and Minato since they were the ones who called Tsunade back to heal him.

She had yet to want to interact with people her own age, but Inoichi said that would come in time.

'_At least she is showing improvement….'_ Kakashi thought with a smile.

Kakashi was about to rest his eyes, when a knock sounded at his door. He expected Tsunade as it was about time for his checkup.

"Come in."

When the door opened, he was surprised to see that it was Minato.

"Yo, Minato-sensei," Kakashi said as he sat back up.

"Hey, Kakashi, how are you feeling today?" Minato asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Fine. I just wish I could leave…"

Minato nodded. He knew Kakashi hated hospitals.

"Tsunade said you could leave in a couple weeks if all goes well."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know…."

After a moment, he realized something. Minato was fidgeting.

"What's wrong, Minato-sensei?" he asked.

Minato sighed., "I feel like it's my fault you are here."

Kakashi shook his head, "It's not. And I am fine, so there isn't anything to feel bad about."

"We should have realized something like this could have happened…we should have prepared for it. But we didn't, and now you're stuck here."

Kakashi sighed, "It's fine, Minato-sensei. I promise it is."

"I believe you. But, after much thought, I've decided…."

He let his sentence trail off.

"Decided what?" Kakashi asked.

"I've decided to tell Hinata the truth, the whole truth. I thought we were doing her a favor by keeping it from her, but now I know it was wrong to keep it from her," Minato stated. "Kushina said that the Kyūbi was able to gain control because Hinata hasn't been trained. She told me Seiko had to undergo ninja training before the fox was sealed inside of her. Hinata never had that training, and while she has been getting better, her mental state is still weak. Kushina told me that if she had had that training, however, then the fox might never have been able to take over like it had."

Kakashi was surprised, he wasn't expecting this.

"So, when do you plan on telling her?"

Minato answered almost immediately, "I would like to do it soon as I can, but I probably won't be able to. I want you there when I tell her, so it'll be a couple of weeks at least."

Kakashi nodded.

"There is one other thing I'd like to ask of you, though…" Minato began.

"What is it?" Kakashi questioned.

"I want you to be the one to start training her. I could enter her into the academy, but I believe it is too soon to do that. Inoichi agreed. She wouldn't do well around so many foreign people, especially since most of them are children. I know we wanted to wait and not push her, but I believe a push is what she needs. It's time we start taking her training seriously, and I think you would be the best teacher for her. This isn't only for the village's safety, but for hers as well."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"You will be in charge of bringing her up to speed. Once she is at Genin level, I was going to set her up with a few other people for her to train under. I want her to be a well-rounded shinobi, and I believe this will be the easiest way to accomplish that."

"Who are you planning on setting her up with?"

"So far I know it will be Gai, Kurenai, Anko…and Hiashi."

"So, you're going to tell her about her heritage as well?"

"Yes. And he is the only one who can teach her to use her Byakugan. Now that I think about it, he'll probably be helping you bring her up to speed, though not right away as she would need some time to adjust to the fact that Hiashi is her father."

"Aren't you worried people will find out about it?" Kakashi asked, curiously. "About her Byakugan?"

"I was, but I found a solution to our problem," Minato said. "You have probably noticed that Hinata's Byakugan is undetectable, right?"

Kakashi nodded his head, "I have. I thought you guys resealed it."

Minato shook his head.

"No, we did not. We could have easily sealed it, but we decided against it. If it is sealed, she won't be able to learn to use it. So, we took another approach."

"Oh? And what's that?"

Minato smiled, "With Kurenai's help we were able to create a Genjutsu powerful enough to mask her Byakugan. It is almost undetectable, and does not drain much chakra to activate. The drawback is that once it is activated, however, it will drain a person's chakra quite quickly; however, since we are dealing with someone who is a Jinchūriki and an Uzumaki, it doesn't really matter. Kurenai designed it after some of the Kurama clan's techniques, and she casted it on Hinata herself. Until you get released from here it will run off of Kurenai's chakra. We placed a seal on Hinata that is filled with Kurenai's chakra and it acts kind of like a battery for the Genjutsu. However, once you are out we will teach you how to cast it and you will be in charge of making sure the chakra seal on her remains full. When Hinata is able to, she will learn the technique and it will run off of her own chakra."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Are you positive it works, though?"

"Yes, we had Hiashi test it out for us. He told us that while he could detect the presence of foreign chakra surrounding Hinata, he could not break the Genjutsu. He said that if it was Hinata's own chakra casting it, then he wouldn't have even noticed it. And when we casted it on him to test it out, he told us it did not hinder his own ability to use his Dōjutsu."

Kakashi was impressed that Kurenai created that powerful of a Genjutsu; not many could block the Byakugan completely, after all.

"Are you sure Kurenai doesn't have some long lost relative that came from the Kurama clan, Minato-sensei?"

Minato shook his head with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm positive she doesn't. She's just naturally skilled when it comes to Genjutsu. It's really impressive since she doesn't have the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai. She'll go far with those skills of hers, I'm sure of it."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. He knew first hand that Kurenai was a dangerous opponent, having been a part of many high ranked missions with her. Most enemies she encountered didn't know what hit them once they were caught in her Genjutsu as a lot of Shinobi made the mistake of thinking that, unless you had a Kekkei Genkai, there wasn't much of a point in studying it in too much detail.

Kakashi knew better, though; Genjutsu was dangerous. Sometimes it was more dangerous than Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. And Kurenai was a great example of that being the case. More often than not, she was able to capture or kill her opponent without getting a scratch on her thanks to Genjutsu. It also served her well when she had to go undercover as a seductress; she was one of the rare Kunoichi who never had to use her own body to complete a mission.

Minato, noticing where the sun was positioned in the sky, decided it was time for him to go.

"I have a lot of work to get done, tonight, Kakashi. Sorry I cannot stay longer to keep you company. I've got a meeting with Tsunade, and then Uchiha Itachi right after," he said.

"Uchiha Itachi?" Kakashi asked.

He had a feeling he knew what the meeting with Tsunade would be about, but he had no idea what he'd want with Itachi.

"He shows great promise in the ANBU. He's only been a member for about a year and a half, and he already is much stronger than half the people on his squad and his leadership abilities far surpass a good number of them. Because of this, I've decided that his abilities could be used elsewhere, so I've decided to have him start training to become captain of your old squad…" Minato said with a smile. "It'll be a couple of years until he receives the promotion, however. He needs some more on the field experience first."

This surprised Kakashi. Kakashi knew Itachi was strong, and that he showed great promise, but it was almost heard of one training for captain so soon. Itachi was only 11, and hadn't been a part of ANBU for very long. Most captains, himself included, had been a part of ANBU for years before they received their promotions. But, if what Minato said was true, Itachi was going to make captain by thirteen.

"Impressive…" Kakashi said to himself with a whistle.

Minato nodded, "Mmhm. Anyways, I'll see you later, Kakashi."

Minato turned to leave, but before he made it out the door he remembered there was something else he needed to tell him.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Kushina says she'll come visit you next time, Naruto has been a real handful for her."

"That's okay, Minato-sensei…."

Minato smiled once more, "When you are out of here, Kushina promised to make dinner for you. She is going to make Sukiyaki. Your presences is required."

Kakashi's eyes opened wide in horror when he heard that; he made the mistake of eating Kushina's Sukiyaki once before. It smelled and looked fine, but it was the worst tasting thing he had ever tried. His tongue wasn't the same for many days, and it gave him severe diarrhea the following day. Oh, how his ass burned for a week.

Kakashi's reaction caused Minato to laugh hysterically.

"Oh, God! That look on your face was priceless!" Minato said wiping tears from his eyes. "I'm just kidding about the Sukiyaki, Kushina felt horrible after what had happened last time. She just wants to make you Ramen, and you know she is an expert when it comes to Ramen."

Kakashi let out the breath he was holding.

'_Thank god…' _Kakashi thought with a sigh.

Minato shook his head with a smile.

"Anyway, I really have to get going. Tsunade should be arriving at my office around now. I'll come again soon, Kakashi," Minato said.

Kakashi nodded and waved as he shut the door.

"See ya," he sighed. "Alone again…great."

* * *

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* * *

><p>Tsunade sighed, feeling drained. She had been busy in the hospital the last three days and did not have time to talk to Minato. There had just been too much work to be done.<p>

However, now that she had the time, she was anxious in what he had to tell her about Seiko's little girl. He said it was important.

A feeling of unease made its way in the pit of her stomach when she knocked on his door. She expected to hear him tell her to enter, however, instead, it stayed quiet.

"He's not in?" she asked herself in confusion thinking that she got the time wrong.

She was just about to knock once more just to make sure when she heard a voice behind her.

"Sorry I'm late, Tsunade," Minato said.

Tsunade, startled, jumped toward Minato, ready to attack him.

Minato's eyes widened as he disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the hall. Luckily he had because only a moment later and Tsunade's fist would have hit him full force in his head.

"Don't do that!" she growled.

"Sorry!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes, as she tried to calm down. It wasn't easy for someone to sneak up on her, but Minato had done so as if it were nothing.

'_I wouldn't stand a chance…'_ she thought with a frown.

It kind of annoyed her. Minato was younger than she was and didn't have as much experience as she did, and yet he was far stronger than she was.

Minato nodded, and motioned for him to join him in his office.

"Like I was saying, I'm sorry I was late; I was visiting with Kakashi."

Tsunade raised her eyebrows when Kakashi was mentioned.

She sighed.

'_I knew there was something I was forgetting about. I shouldn't have snuck out for sake. Shizune is going to give me hell when she realizes I skipped Kakashi's appointment time…'_

She wasn't worried about Kakashi. She knew he was in no danger anymore, as did everyone. She just didn't want to listen to Shizune. She could be quite annoying at times.

Minato smiled, and entered his office with Tsunade tailing behind him.

"So…what is it you wanted to tell me about Hinata, Minato?" she demanded as soon as the office door shut, getting straight to the point.

"Would you like anything to drink first, Tsunade?" Minato said with a smile trying delay what he was about to tell her.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I just want to know what has been going on with Seiko's child. It seemed important."

Minato sighed, realizing she wasn't going to let it go.

"I think you might want to sit down…"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told.

She was lucky she had, or her knees would have buckled under her at what he had told her.

'_Why did I ever leave!?'_

"Where is he?" she asked coldly.

"I told you he was already taken care of, Tsunade," Minato said, worriedly. "I cannot let you kill him. He's just too valuable."

A lopsided, eerie smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, I don't plan on killing him. He deserves more than that. However, there are ways to make comatose patients suffer. I know the human body inside and out; I'm not called the best medical ninja around, for nothing," Tsunade said. "I will find him whether you tell me where he is or not, Minato."

"Tsunade, calm down—"

Tsunade jumped up from the chair she was slouching in and pointed at him.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! You guys were supposed to protect her, to adopt her. But you let the elders control you, and look where it got us? The Kyūbi almost got free because Hinata's mind is still weak from the attack, and where would the village have been, then? I should have stayed. If I had, none of this would have happened. I would have taken her in no matter what, but I left because I am weak. I am just as much to blame as you guys are!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Tell me where he is. I will not kill him, but he got off lightly, and needs to be punished. He tortured and molested a little girl. A LITTLE GIRL!"

Tears filled her eyes.

Minato sighed. He knew she would be angry, and she had every right to be.

But he couldn't allow her to do what she wanted with him. While he had trusted Hiashi to stop, he didn't trust Tsunade to. Not when she was acting like this. She was far too emotional. She would not see reason.

Sitting up straight, eyes narrowed, he bellowed, "Tsunade! I am the Hokage of this village, which means I outrank you. You will stand down now. I will not allow you near him, not now. Not when you are so emotionally involved. Hiashi already punished him, I told you that. It was his daughter, after all. Do you really think he let him off lightly?"

"No, but—"

"No buts! Stand down before I am forced to take extreme measures!" he exclaimed. "Do I need to charge you with insubordination? Because I will if you do not keep your emotions in check."

Tsunade stepped back from the pressure he was emitting. She knew that even though she was at Kage level, she still was outclassed by Minato.

He would beat her there was no doubt about that. She could probably put up a decent fight, but in the end it would not be she who won.

"No sir," her eyes narrowed. "I understand. I will not touch him."

Minato relaxed in his chair, and his chakra was suppressed once more.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade. But this is for the best—" he tried to reason with her.

Tsunade just turned away without saying a word and briskly made her way out of the office; the door slammed closed behind her, almost taken off of its hinges from the impact.

She couldn't help but feel that it was just as much her fault as it was Kushina's and Minato's.

'_If I had only stayed…if I had only stayed…'_

Tsunade shook her head to clear it.

It was true she felt guilty at what she had done, but her guilt was outweighed by the anger she felt.

She was angry at herself, at Minato, and at Kushina.

But, most importantly, she was angry at Dai Takeshi. He did something that was unforgivable, and she could not let it go.

No one hurt her precious people and got away with it unpunished.

No one.

And whether the Hokage liked it or not, she would make him pay. Maybe not now, maybe not even in a few years. But the day would come when he got punished.

She would make sure of it.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Minato sighed. That had not gone well at all.<p>

"I hope she doesn't do anything reckless…" he said under his breath, as he pulled a stack of papers from out of his the drawer.

Just when he was about to get started working, a knock sounded on the door.

Minato could slap himself. He forgot about his meeting with Itachi.

'_Oh well…it's not like it changes anything.'_

"Come in."

Itachi slowly opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama," he said respectfully with a bow.

Minato smiled tiredly at Itachi.

"Good afternoon, Itachi."

Itachi nodded, "So, what can I do for you, Hokage-sama?"

"Do you have any idea why I have called you here, Itachi?" Minato asked as he started rummaging through his desk.

Itachi watched in interest, and replied, "No, Hokage-sama."

"Ah, here it is!" Minato said, pulling a semi-crinkle piece of paper out from underneath a large stack. "I need you to read and sign this form, Itachi."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"This," Minato said as he began to fill out portions of the paper, "is your promotion paperwork."

"Promotion?" Itachi asked dumbfounded; he knew of no promotion.

Minato looked up and smiled.

"So no one mentioned it? Good," Minato said. "Congratulations, Itachi. You're going to be one of the youngest ANBU captains in Konoha History."

"What?" Itachi sputtered, unable to process what he was just told.

"Well, it won't be a full promotion right now. It's a partial promotion. I've decided that your skills are going to waste where you are currently stationed at and decided to do something about it. Starting tomorrow, you are going to undergo a rigorous training regimen and within the next year or two, if you work hard, you will become captain of Squad 5."

Itachi was speechless. It was almost unheard of for someone to make captain so young.

Minato laughed. "Do you want it, Itachi?"

Itachi nodded his head, "Yes, of course! This would be an honor, Hokage-sama, and I will not disappoint you!"

"I know you won't, I have absolute faith in you, Itachi," Minato said as his smile dropped, "that's why I need to know something…"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, realizing the atmosphere in the room got colder. Maybe it was a mission?

"You know I would do anything for the village, Hokage-sama."

Minato smiled sadly, "That's good, Itachi. Just know, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think it was necessary."

Itachi nodded, realizing it was something big.

"I know what they are planning," Minato said with his eyes narrowed, getting to the point.

Itachi's eyes widened. He couldn't know about that could he?

Itachi's heart fell when Minato finished.

"Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that the Uchiha clan is starting to divide itself, and I need your help to stop it from going any further."

_**End.**_

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><p>.<p>

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><p><strong>I guess that's it for now, might go back and edit this chapter some more because I feel like I have missed some stuff. I also might change the title of the chapter, but for now it'll remain "The Princess" as Tsunade has been introduced once more (and this time she isn't leaving). I have some big plans involving Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, but those won't come into play until much, much later. <strong>

**Next chapter there will be a four year time skip as Hinata will finally be entering the academy. The training she will be undergoing before that will be skipped. It is possible (though, at the moment, unlikely) that later on I'll make a few chapters (or a spin off story) describing what training she went through, but for now I'm just going to skip it. **

**One last note I'd like to add is that I'm not sure how soon next chapter will be posted, but I'll try not to take too long. The next few months are going to be hectic, but I'll try my best to update! I would love to be able to update this story regularly, but it probably won't be the case. Still, I don't plan on abandoning this story as I have so much planned for it. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. The Academy

_**How Things Change:  
><strong>__**Chapter VII~ The Academy**__**  
><strong>_

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><p><em>Four Years Later, Hinata Age 11<em>

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><p>"Kakashi-niisan…do I really have to do this?" Hinata asked quietly with a frown on her face.<p>

Kakashi sighed; he had already been over this with her.

"Yes, Hinata, you do. You do want to become a full-fledged Shinobi, right?"

Hinata nodded her head. "I do, but—"

"No buts. You're not even going to be there that long. It's just going to be for two years. Almost everyone else will have been there for four when they finally graduate. You're one of the lucky ones. And anyways, you know the real reason you are needed in that classroom. It's a mission for you, and you'll be paid well for it," Kakashi said. "My birthday is coming up…you wanted the money to throw me a surprise party, right?"

He grinned.

Hinata's eyes narrowed.

"…how did you know that?"

'_Shit, I blew it. Why does this always happen?' _

"Uh…would you believe me if I told you it was an educated guess?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"No," Hinata answered. "It was Kurenai-neesan, wasn't it? She got drunk again and told you, right?"

"Um, well…"

"How could she!? She promised not to tell!" Hinata huffed angrily. "She ruined the surprise! She always does this!"

Kakashi couldn't help but to laugh at her antics.

"It's not funny, Kakashi-niisan!" she whined.

"Yeah it is."

"No it isn't!"

"Mmhm."

"No!"

Hinata crossed her arms, stuck her tongue out at him, and then turned her back to him.

"You're a big meany, you know that?"

"I've been called worse," Kakashi said with a grin as he tried to hold back his laughter.

"Whatever," Hinata said with her back still turned to him.

Kakashi's eyes softened as he looked at her. It was nice seeing Hinata act like the child she was, even if it was only going to be for a brief moment. He was one of the few people that saw that childlike side of her. To almost everyone, but a select few, she looked as if she wore an emotionless mask; she did not smile, and she did not laugh. Her true emotions couldn't even be seen in her eyes—the so called 'windows to your soul'—because of the Genjutsu she had to wear over them on a constant basis. She carefully controlled what people saw in her eyes, and in her body language. She had become a pro at hiding her true self from outsiders, and it was not easy for her to let people in. When it came to forming new relationships, she was cold and detached.

It was going on four years since she learned of the demon she contained, and in that time she had changed. She was still soft spoken and respectful, but it was like pulling teeth to get her to open up to new people, especially to children. Every time they tried to push her toward making friends with kids her own age, she flat out refused. Kakashi still couldn't fully understand why she hated dealing with people who were her own age, even after Inoichi tried to explain it to him.

According to the Yamanaka clan head, Hinata refused to interact with children because she felt different than them. While growing up, she hadn't interacted with other children much, and so she felt as if she didn't belong with them. There was her, and then there was them. After the attack, he explained, it worsened.

That was another reason why it had been decided that she would enter the academy.

Kakashi knew that Hinata could probably be instated as a Genin—Chūnin even—without graduating from the academy, but he had decided against it. Both he and Inoichi thought it would be a better idea for her to join the academy and get placed on a team with kids her own age in the hopes that she would begin to open up to them. It was a gamble, they knew, but they still hoped it would turn out for the best.

After talking to Minato and Kushina about it, they had agreed and gave Hinata the mission they were planning on giving to an undercover ANBU. They knew it would be easier to get Hinata to agree to the Academy if she thought her main purpose was a mission.

The thought of Kushina and Minato caused Kakashi to sigh.

Hinata treated the aspect of friending both Minato and Kushina worse than she did when it came to children. One wouldn't have even realized that the progress she had started to make with them, when Tsunade returned, had ever existed. Around them she always kept her true self locked away, she did not trust either of them.

They had lied to her for years.

For seven years of her life, they had lied to her. It was the ultimate betrayal to know that Kushina, the one who was supposed to be like a sister to her birth mother, had kept everything from her. The fox residing in her had been a huge blow, but so had been the fact that her father had been alive and well for her whole life. At first, when she heard that, she was angry at him; however, when she came to know that he hadn't even known she existed, she forgave him. Part of her was angry at her birth mother for keeping her a secret from him—had she told him, none of what she went through might have happened—but mostly she was angry at Kushina and Minato. They could have told Hiashi about her after her mother died, but they had not. They stuck her in an orphanage where she was surrounded by people who shunned and neglected her. And it was because of that, that she was attacked.

While Hinata had distanced herself from Minato and Kushina, over the years, she had grown closer to Hiashi. She wasn't as comfortable around him as she was Kakashi, but he was one of the few who saw her true emotions on occasion. He begged her forgiveness, even though it had not been his fault, and she gave it to him. He hadn't even known she existed, so she could not continue to blame him for not being there for her. And he was her father, her family. All she ever wanted was a family, and now she had it.

She refused to let him go.

Her two most important people were Kakashi and Hiashi, though part of her cared for Kakashi more. He was her savior, after all. But even so, Hiashi still was very important to her and it made her sad that she couldn't see him more than a few times a month for training.

"So," Hinata said dejectedly, "does this mean I can't tag along with you anymore?"

Kakashi nodded, understanding what she was saying.

"Sorry. But you don't have to worry, I am not going to be going on very many missions anymore as we were mostly going on them for practice for you."

Hinata had been training vigorously for the last four years, building her skills. She had been a quick learner once she got the basics for chakra control down (which took almost a year in itself). According to Kakashi, she was at low to mid Chūnin level, and it was because of that that she and Kakashi had done some missions together. Kakashi was still considered to be on inactive duty, but Minato wanted Hinata to get some real world experience, so decided to throw him some C to B rank missions every once in a while. It kept Kakashi busy, and helped Hinata hone her skills at the same time.

Not many people knew that, of course. No one even knew she was as strong as she was. Her training, and the missions she were sent on because of it, were a classified secret. Only those involved knew.

"Okay…" Hinata said as she nodded; knowing that Kakashi wasn't going to be leaving her behind made her feel much better.

However, that didn't stop her from becoming a nervous wreck.

Hinata sighed, realizing she couldn't put it off any longer without being late.

"I guess I better get going…"

Kakashi placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and smiled with his eyes closed. "Tell you what...if you try your best at the academy, we'll finally start your elemental training."

Hinata's eyes lit up; she had been waiting for months to begin that phase of her training. Kakashi said she should be at least mid Chūnin level to begin as that was the norm. She was desperately hoping to have a lightening affinity like Kakashi.

"You really mean that?"

Kakashi nodded his head and said, "Yeah, we'll test for your affinity today. Sound good?"

Hinata nodded her head vigorously. "Yes!"

"Alright, you should head out now. Have fun, Hinata…and try to make friends, ok?"

Hinata paused with her hand on the door knob as an awkward silence filled the room.

"…I will try, Kakashi-niisan," she finally said as she left the house.

Kakashi sighed while shaking his head.

No she wouldn't.

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><p><strong>.<strong>

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><p>The walk to the academy was a quiet one.<p>

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there weren't very many people around and about. It was early, and most people were still asleep. Most shops wouldn't even start opening for another hour or so.

The few people she did see out, however, avoided her and watched her cautiously. She could almost feel the tension in the air as she passed by a family that had gone for an early stroll. She couldn't stop the pang that she felt in her heart as the family glared at her, while pulling their child away.

It hurt. She would deny it with all she had, but deep down, it hurt.

Ever since she had been adopted by Kakashi, the villagers seemed to avoid her more. She assumed it was because they were a little scared now; she wasn't just a 'nobody' anymore. She was part of the Hatake family, and most importantly, her adoptive guardian was one of the strongest Jōnin in the entire village, not to mention he was really close to the Hokage. They had a sound reason to be a little afraid.

If anyone tried to mess with her, they would be messing with Kakashi, and if they messed with Kakashi, then they—

Well, no one liked to think about what would happen if The Fourth got involved. Again.

Everyone in the village had heard stories about Dai Takeshi, the man who had attacked Hinata years ago, and everyone knew that only a few days after to incident, he had been miraculously found dead in his cell, with no traces of who had done it. Because of that, it had been ruled a 'natural death'. However, even though there was no evidence, it had been obvious as to what had happened, and no one wanted to risk it happening to them. So, to make sure of it, no one bothered Hinata. She was not shooed out of shops or restaurants, she was not overcharged, and she was not yelled at any longer.

Their cold looks never changed, however.

No one could get in trouble from just glaring at her. The Hokage may disagree with the looks, but legally they weren't doing anything wrong. They were just looking, after all. There was no harm in looking.

Or so they thought.

Inwardly their looks of disapproval hurt her, but outwardly they would never know that. She would not let anyone see the pain she felt under their cold looks. She was closed off, and she was okay with that. She had everyone she needed, why make more of a hassle for herself by adding to it?

She had Kakashi and Hiashi. She even had a baby sister, though she had yet to meet her. However, even though she had never met her, she couldn't help but love her. And she swore that, when she was strong enough, she would not only protect herself from her father's clan, but also protect her sister. She would never let something as bad as what happened to her, happen to Hanabi.

She also had Kurenai, Anko, and Gai. They had protected her when she was hurt, and had helped her train to grow stronger. She didn't trust them as she did Hiashi and Kakashi, but they were still very important to her. Anko had helped with the investigation of the attack, Gai had protected her along with Kakashi when she was in the hospital all those years ago, and Kurenai had taken care of her after Kakashi had almost lost his life from a training accident. One day she promised to return the favor and protect them.

And lastly, she had Shizune, and Tsunade. While she had been angry with Tsunade initially, she had finally let the anger go. It took almost three years, but Hinata had finally found it in her heart to forgive her. Without Tsunade, Kakashi would have died, and how would she have reacted if her own brother was taken away from her? So, even though it was hard to do, she had let her back into her life. And because of her and Shizune, Hinata was able to drastically improve her chakra control and had even started learning the basics in Medical Ninjutsu, something she was very interested in. If Kakashi ever got hurt again, she wanted to be able to save him.

'_Your looks mean nothing to me anymore…' _she thought as she ignored everyone who looked at her coldly.

It was a lie and she knew it, but she would continue to lie to herself about it. The lie kept her heart from shattering under those icy looks.

Hinata shook her head to clear her mind as she made it to the academy. She didn't have time to be worrying about what others thought about her.

She had a mission to complete.

Hinata dropped her head, and brought her hands in front of her as if she were trying to hide from the world. It wasn't hard, seeing as she preferred to walk that way and only didn't to look strong in front of the people who hated her. Altering the Genjutsu that concealed her Byakugan, she was able to put a bit of fear and insecurity in her eyes. Again, it wasn't hard, seeing as those feelings were usually present in her eyes behind the Genjutsu anyways.

She was to look weak. She would be the failure of the class, even though she was probably stronger than everyone there, minus the teachers. So, even though she hated to look so weak around others, there was nothing she could do. Looking frail and weak had been a requirement for the mission.

Hinata soon made it to the classroom, and she was nervous, but she denied it. They were just kids, what could they do to her? They couldn't hurt her…right?

Steeling herself, she turned the knob and forced herself to walk through the door.

Upon stepping in, Hinata couldn't help but sigh in relief.

The room was almost empty.

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><p><strong>.<strong>

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><p>Kakashi thought that he'd have a quiet and relaxing day reading his favorite erotic novel, after Hinata left.<p>

He couldn't have been more wrong.

After about ten or so minutes, he couldn't stop himself from feeling extremely anxious. It was the same feeling he always got when he had to watch Hinata be put into dangerous situations on missions.

Kakashi slammed his book shut, and began pacing.

Would she be okay?

Would she try to make friends?

Would they treat her alright?

Would anyone like her?

"Ugh! All I am doing is worrying!" Kakashi yelled out to no one.

Becoming an older brother had been the hardest thing he had ever been through, and that was saying a lot coming from an Ex-ANBU.

Throwing his day clothes on, he hurriedly made his way out of the door, hoping a nice long walk would help calm him down. He was in such a hurry, that he hadn't even remembered to bring his prized Icha Icha novel along with him, and, anyone who knew Kakashi, would know that he was never likely to forget it, unless there was something wrong with him. However, Kakashi hadn't even noticed it was missing.

The air outside was warm and the sun was bright, but it did little to calm him. He couldn't get the thought of Hinata out of his head.

Without realizing just where he was going, he soon found himself standing in front of Kurenai's small home.

Shrugging, he banged on the door. Even though it was early, he thought maybe having a drink with her would be enough to calm him.

A minute passed, and nothing happened.

'_That's odd…Kurenai is usually awake by now…'_

Kurenai was one of the odd people who actually liked being up before dawn, even on her days off.

As he banged on the door once more, a smirk soon found its way onto Kakashi's face. He could clearly hear the scurrying going on, on the other side of the door. Kurenai wasn't alone, and she wasn't with Anko—her best girlfriend— either. The person with her wasn't even female as he could tell by the smell and sound of them.

Kurenai was very secretive when it came to relationships. She didn't like people prying into her love life, as she felt it was her business and not anyone else's. While Kakashi could admit that that was true, he just couldn't bring himself to just let it go. Not this time. He had to get back at her for that time she had set him up on a blind date with that transvestite…

"I know you're in there, Kurenai, just open up!" Kakashi yelled out to his friend, hoping to embarrass her.

Another couple of minutes passed by before Kurenai pulled open her door, an irritated scowl on her face. She was not happy to see Kakashi. And the amused look in his visible eye pissed her off even more.

He was doing it on purpose.

"Do you know how early it is? Today's my day off. We can drink later!"

Kakashi couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your…_rest_," Kakashi responded, putting on emphasis on rest for good measure.

Kurenai's face blushed crimson.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Kakashi…"

"Oh, you don't? Then tell me, when did you start to smoke?" Kakashi asked as he pointed behind her.

Kurenai's eyes winded as she turned around. Sitting on her coffee table, laid a lit cigarette.

Kakashi smiled as he heard Kurenai curse. He had won.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" she spat venomously.

"You know why I can't, Kure-chan," Kakashi said as he invited himself in.

And just like he knew it would, Kurenai turned and yelled, "What have I told you about calling me that, Kakashi?!"

She hated that nickname he had given her.

Kakashi ignored her and just continued intruding into the house.

"You can come out now, Asuma," Kakashi called to the man he knew was hiding in the bedroom.

Even if he hadn't heard him from outside of the door, his scent would have given him away.

A snicker came from the room, as the door opened. And just as Kakashi expected, Asuma walked out.

"Well, I guess I'll just be on my way now…" he pulled Kurenai into a hug and gave her a long, lingering kiss on the lips. "We'll have to do that again sometime."

Kurenai gently pushed Asuma away; she was embarrassed that Kakashi was there watching what was happening.

Asuma didn't take it badly, however; he knew what Kurenai was like, and he knew she was embarrassed. So, instead of going in for another kiss like he wanted, he decided it would be best just to leave. Kurenai would call him when she wanted to spend time with him.

As Asuma made his way out of the house, Kakashi was able to catch a glimpse of the bedroom. A perverted giggle formed in his throat when he saw what state it was in.

"Well it seems you two had a really, _really_ good time, right Kure-chan…?"

Kurenai couldn't help but groan. She would never hear the end of it.

Soon her fist found its way to Kakashi's skull as her voice rang out for all of Konoha to hear.

"PERVERT!"

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><p><strong>.<strong>

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><p>Hinata's relief was short lived as a man, Hinata assumed to be the teacher, turned to her and smiled kindly, though Hinata could see it was forced. He hated her—well, no, not hate. Hate was too strong to describe what she saw within his eyes. He disliked her, and was slightly afraid.<p>

"Ah, you must be Hatake Hinata? I'm Umino Iruka, and I'm the head instructor for the class."

Hinata nodded meekly, with her head downcast.

"G-good m-morning, Umino-sensei," she stuttered quietly, with a blush on her face.

Iruka's mouth fell opened in shock, which did not go unnoticed by Hinata.

"Please, call me 'Iruka-sensei', it's whatever else calls me…" he said quietly.

Hinata nodded her head. She could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"O-okay, Iruka-sensei."

Now she saw confusion in his eyes…and regret? She couldn't tell exactly. He was expecting her to be different, to be evil…but that thought was crushed with her act.

'_Good…'_ Hinata thought with satisfaction.

At least she was doing something right.

"Hmhm," Iruka cleared his throat to cover up his surprise, "well, feel free to take a seat anywhere, class won't begin for another thirty minutes."

Hinata nodded once more, and hurried to get a seat in the back; she hated it when people sat behind her. Luckily for her, the class wasn't full and it was easy for her to grab a seat in the right corner of class.

She was one of only four children in the class. Everyone else would arrive within the next half hour.

'_Hmm…that boy must be the Uchiha. And who is that one sleeping? The Nara, possibly? And the one eating potato chips next to him must be the Akimichi—' _

Hinata was taken from her thoughts as a boy spoke to her.

"You're in my seat."

Hinata blushed, angry at herself. The boy was so quiet she hadn't heard him come up to her.

"Um, I-I'm so s-sorry!" Hinata managed to squeal out. "I'll m-move if you w-want…?"

The boy, who wore a large white jacket and dark shades, eyebrows rose. Hinata couldn't read his eyes as they were covered, but she assumed she would see confusion in them.

"No," he began. "That won't be necessary…"

He then pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

Hinata sighed inwardly. She was hoping to get a seat by herself.

However, Hinata soon found out that she basically did have a seat to herself. The boy next to her hadn't tried to talk to her since sitting. He was very quiet and reserved, and she liked it. She kind of hoped he would sit next to her every day just so no one loud and talkative could take his place.

'_He must be the Aburame heir…' _

The Aburame's for the most part were known for being reserved.

Over the next few minutes, the room began to fill. It was quite easy for Hinata to spot the clan children from the non-clan children.

'_I know that's Yamanaka Ino because of the pictures Inoichi keeps on his desk, not to mention the fact that she looks a lot like him. And the one with the dog has to be the Inuzuka, and that pink haired girl must be one of the few non-clan children in the class...' _

It was really strange to have a class with so many clan children, especially the heirs. Normally they tried to break them up, but for this class they wanted to try something different. Technically even she would have been considered an heiress, if it weren't for the fact that her father had to give up his parental rights to protect her. Hinata knew she was part Hyūga, but she never considered the clan to be her own. Not after what was told to her about them. She despised what was done in the Hyūga clan, and really hoped her baby sister could grow up to change it like her father wanted her to.

Before Hinata could think more about her father's clan, a loud screech from the pink haired girl filled her head.

"Ino-pig, get out of that seat. I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

Hinata sighed, allowing her mind to wander from the cat fight that was going on. It was going to be a long two years, especially since there was an ulterior motive for her joining the class. There was a traitor in their midst, according to one of Minato's most trusted spies, and it was her job to weed them out and make sure no harm was to come to any of the clan heirs. No one was completely sure just who it was, but it had been narrowed down to a handful of academy teachers. Iruka and Mizuki from the class she was in, and Ami—the weapons instructor— from across the hall.

Another minute passed before the sound of the bell ringing was heard. Hinata brought her attention back to Iruka and noticed that another man had joined the room, and was staring straight at her.

'_Mizuki…'_

His eyes were cold, calculating, and unlike Iruka, held hate and malice toward her. It was hidden behind false kindness, but Hinata could see it. Nothing could hide from her eyes.

Hinata narrowed her eyes, though it was hidden by the Genjutsu.

'_I have a bad feeling about him…'_

Before she could think more about it, Iruka welcomed the class. Hinata noticed that he seemed to be looking for someone who wasn't there yet.

'_The class looks pretty full…is there still some more students coming?'_ she wondered.

Hinata was brought from her thoughts when she realized Iruka was talking about her.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today—Hatake Hinata—and if you all could make her feel welcome it would be much appreciated…"

He didn't sound too enthusiastic about it, and she doubted he really meant it. He still didn't trust her, even if he didn't completely hate her.

A round of "Welcome, Hinata" had followed the announcement.

Iruka then turned from the class, and began writing on the board. Hinata noticed that some of the children were staring at her. She assumed it would happen; it was pretty strange for someone new to join a class that had started two years earlier.

Slowly, much to Hinata's relief, the eyes turned from her and back toward Iruka for the lesson.

"Today we're going to go over—" Iruka began.

Before he could finish, however, the smoke from an active smoke bomb filled the room.

"Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, reporting for duty," a loud voice filled the room.

Once the room cleared, Hinata could make out a boy with blonde, spikey hair standing in the front of the room, with a wide smile lighting up his face. He looked exactly like his mom, except for the hair and eye color. That he got from his father.

No one told her he would be in the class.

Hinata raised her eyebrows upon noticing what looked to be faint whisker like scars on both of his cheeks. They had to have been new since she didn't remember seeing them from that one time she had met him while still in the Orphanage.

'_I thought I was the only one to have them…how did he get them?'_ Hinata mused in curiosity.

Though Hinata soon realized that while she was born with her marks, his were caused from a Kunai.

_'I wonder who did it...?'_

Iruka, who was annoyed with Naruto's antics, turned toward him with a scowl on his face.

"Go find your seat, Naruto! And stop making such a scene; you're making a bad impression for our new student! You're the Hokage's son for crying out loud, start acting like it!"

Naruto frowned. He hated when people said that. He was more than the Hokage's son, and he wished people would see that. But no, they never did. All he ever got from people were his father this, his father that. He swore he would prove to people he wasn't just his father's son and that he was Naruto, his own person.

As he walked to take his seat, Mizuki whispered to Iruka, "Don't you think you're being a little hard on him? He didn't really do anything too bad today. It could have been worse. He could have thrown paint balloons into the classroom again…"

'_A prankster…?' _Hinata didn't expect that of the Hokage's son.

Hinata couldn't help but watch Naruto intently. He grew up a lot differently than she expected. She expected someone well behaved like he was when he was younger, and already Chūnin, at the very least. If she had paid more attention to Kushina and Minato she would have realized that they never pushed his training so he could have a semi normal childhood.

As Naruto continued his way to his seat next to the Uchiha heir—Iruka must had made both Ino and the pink haired girl move away from him—Hinata could see that his eyes were full of determination, but also a lot of sadness. This confused her.

Why would he be sad?

He had two parents who loved him, not to mention he was the Hokage's son, like Iruka had said. The villagers probably treated him like a prince—like royalty— so just what was he sad about?

Hinata couldn't help but take an interest in him; even though he was related to the two people she distrusted the most. But even she could see he had nothing to do with it. He was just a kid; he had nothing to do with his parent's lies and deceit. If she blamed him for what his parents had done, she would have been no better than the villager who blamed her and her mother for the Kyūbi's attack.

Still, she didn't plan on talking to him. Just because she didn't blame him, didn't mean she wanted to become his friend; she didn't want to befriend anyone in the class. But she had to find something of interest in class as she knew she would be bored if she did not. So soon it had been decided that she would figure Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto out.

'_It's not like I have anything better to do…'_ she thought with a sigh.

These next two years were going to drag by.

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><p>When Hinata returned from her first day at school, Kakashi could tell she was drained.<p>

"So how was it?" he asked gently while holding an ice pack to his head.

"Boring," Hinata shrugged her shoulders, before noticing that Kakashi looked completely beat up, "…you messed with Kurenai-neesan, again, hmm?"

Kakashi nodded, "I probably shouldn't have gone so far, but…it was worth it."

He smiled happily.

Hinata shook her head in disbelief. Only he would be happy after getting beat up by Kurenai.

"Anyways, did you figure out anything of interest?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject.

"No, not yet. Both teachers seem professional, though both of them dislike me—no surprise there. I haven't been able to meet Ami yet as we aren't supposed to practice our weaponry with her for two more days," Hinata paused, trying to remember if she had forgotten to add anything. "Well there is one thing, but it's only a gut feeling. There's something about Mizuki that I don't trust."

Kakashi frowned, "Well, keep an eye out on him, but make sure you pay attention to the other two teachers as well. Okay?"

"I will," Hinata said with a nod, before remembering something else she wanted to ask. "Why didn't you tell me their kid would be in the class?"

"I didn't think it mattered…" Kakashi trailed off.

"It doesn't, I was just wondering..."

Kakashi smiled and ruffled her hair. He was glad to see that she didn't blame him for what his parents had done. Maybe she'd befriend him, though, he doubted it.

Hinata looked up to Kakashi and asked, "Hey Kakashi-niisan, how did he get those scars on his cheeks anyways? That one time he was brought to the orphanage with Hokage-sama, he didn't have them. They're almost identical to my marks, except mine are birth marks..."

Deciding there was no harm in telling her, he said, "You remember when Kumo accepted our treaty two years ago and sent their head shinobi to sign it?"

Hinata nodded; how could she forget? Hiashi had told her the story of how Hanabi had almost been kidnapped that day.

Seeing her nod, he continued, "Well, the head shinobi had brought with him an elderly man who we all thought was just a witness to the signing of the treaty since that is a common practice, and because of that, he wasn't really paid attention to. Anyways, during that time, Kushina had been sent out on an important mission, while Minato had been busy getting everything ready to finalize the treaty. Because Naruto was with his Nanny, and most ANBU were busy supervising the festival, he wasn't under the constant guard he normally was. During that time, the elderly man we all thought was harmless, had snuck away and had kidnapped Naruto."

Hinata frowned; so he had almost been kidnapped that night like her sister?

Continuing, Kakashi said, "Once Minato had found out Naruto was missing, it had been fairly easy to find him as he had a seal placed on him. However, before Minato had arrived, the man had slashed those scars you had seen into Naruto's flesh using a poisoned kunai in hopes of using it against Minato. He wanted to use Naruto as bait to get a powerful scroll from the Hokage, and he thought poisoning Minato's son and offering the antidote in exchange for the scroll would do it. He didn't think anyone in the village would be skilled enough to find an antidote in time—he hadn't realized Tsunade was back, you see—and thought that if he used it as a threat it would get him what he wanted. So, because his threat didn't faze Minato, he had been taken out almost immediately upon his arrival. And, just like Minato knew, Tsunade was easily able to save Naruto. The only thing she wasn't able to get rid of were the scars."

"But why did he cut whisker marks, though? Couldn't he have just poisoned him without doing that?"

"Yeah, he could have. But after interrogating him, we found out that he had seen you at some point while in the village and, for some strange reason, loved how the whisker like marks looked to the point that he wanted to replicate them."

Hinata nodded, not understanding why anyone in their right mind would like how hers looked; she hated them. "Was this before or after Hanabi had been kidnapped?"

"It happened the day before." Kakashi said. "The reason you never heard of it is because of how fast it happened. Naruto had only been gone fifteen minutes before Minato had found him and Minato had decided to keep it quiet since it turned out that the Kumo head didn't even realized it had happened."

"Wait, so the two incidents weren't related?!" Hinata asked in surprise.

"That's correct. It was just coincidental timing. Turns out that on the way here he had killed the actual witness and took his place without the Kumo nin suspecting a thing."

"Hmm…" Hinata said, not sure of what else to say. So instead of continuing on about it, she smiled and asked, "So when are you going to test my chakra?"

Kakashi could slap himself, he had totally forgotten. It wasn't really that big of a deal, however. He had what he would need to test it. He could figure out how to go about the training later.

"Uh, now if you want…" he trailed off, hoping Hinata wouldn't realize he had forgotten.

Hinata's smile grew, "Okay!"

Kakashi stood, and led the way to their training area. As he was walking, he pulled a small square of parchment from his holster. Hinata was confused. It didn't look like anything more than an old piece of paper.

"What's that?"

"This," Kakashi said holding it up, "Is a special type of paper that will tell us what your affinity is."

Hinata then watched in fascination as Kakashi molded a bit of a chakra, causing the paper to crumple almost instantly.

"Lightening, I take it?" Hinata answered, already knowing what his affinity was.

Kakashi laughed, "Yeah. Now you try."

Kakashi handed her a new piece of paper.

Hinata grabbed the paper tentatively, afraid she would rip it.

"Alright, now concentrate a little bit of chakra into that."

Hinata nodded and did as she was told.

Kakashi's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what had happened. Or lack of what happened.

"Is this one broken?" Hinata looked up, and asked curiously.

The piece of paper didn't react at all to her chakra.

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><p>Minato was just about to finish up the last stack of paperwork on his desk, when he heard a pounding on his door.<p>

"Minato-sensei!"

Minato raised an eyebrow, "Come in, Kakashi….what's so urgent?"

Kakashi flung open the door and exclaimed, "You won't believe what just happened!"

"What do you mean?"

"I was testing Hinata's affinity, and look what happened!" Kakashi held up the paper he used to test hers.

Minato didn't see where he was going.

"This was the paper she used! It didn't react to her chakra at all. I even retested her to make sure. And after that one didn't work, I used it myself and it worked perfectly for me!"

That's when it clicked, and as it did, his eyes widened.

"That only happens when…"

Kakashi nodded.

A frown found its way onto Minato's lips.

"How can this be? The Uzumaki clan didn't have a Kekkei Genkai, so that must mean…"

"Someone in Seiko's line wasn't a full Uzumaki or someone in Hiashi's wasn't a full Hyūga."

"I doubt it came from Hiashi's side," Minato said, thinking about how strict that clan was and that non-Hyūga marriages had only started to take place within the last twenty years, "it would have to be on Seiko's side."

Kakashi nodded, "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, seeing as this is an unknown Kekkei Genkai, we're probably best off not trying to teach her how to use it as it could be disastrous, especially if she cannot control it. For now, start teaching her a basic technique of all the elements, to determine which affinities she has. It'll be easier for her to learn the techniques that are more suited for her chakra type. Just make sure she does not combine them after you guys find out. Elemental Kekkei Genkai can be extremely dangerous, as you already know. I'll see about finding more about this bloodline limit after you find out which affinities she has."

Kakashi nodded.

"I'll see you later, then!" he yelled, as he poofed out of existence.

He had only been a shadow clone.

Minato sighed. Things were getting more and more complicated.

Minato was about to finish the last of his work—Kushina was expecting him for dinner— when another knock sounded on the door.

'_Good, that must be Itachi…' _

"Come in."

Minato was glad to see that he was correct.

"Good evening, Hokage-sama," Itachi said with a bow after he entered the office.

Minato nodded, before he noticed the look in Itachi's eyes. He soon realized that he was not going to like what Itachi had to say.

"…bad news, I take it?"

Itachi nodded his head once, causing Minato to sigh.

"Just how bad is it?

"Two thirds of the clan is leaning toward a revolt now."

Minato cursed. That wasn't good.

"Are you positive?"

"Yes."

Things just were not going as planned. He had hoped he could end it peacefully, but he was starting to come to the realization that that wouldn't be the case. If it kept up, extreme measures were going to have to be taken soon.

"How long do we have?"

"From what I've gathered, they still are not ready to go through with it. It will be another year, at least."

Minato nodded. It could have been much worse.

"You're sure it won't be for a year?"

Itachi nodded, "Yes. I got that information straight from Shisui."

"I see," Minato said. Hearing who the information came from erased all of his doubts; he and Itachi trusted Shisui completely, and all information they had gotten from him in the last four years had turned out to be true. "You can go now, then."

Itachi nodded and began making his way toward the door.

Before he left, however, Minato remembered something he wanted to ask him about, "How is the team going? Are they still giving you trouble?"

Itachi shook his head, "They are not. I had to prove myself to them, and that took a while, but they finally trust me as their captain."

Minato smiled, happy Itachi wouldn't be having any more trouble. He had been promoted to Captain two years ago, and his team had been far from being accepting. The older, more experienced ANBU didn't like that their Captain was so young and inexperienced. Minato couldn't blame them. Some of them had been in ANBU for years without getting promoted, and then came Itachi who made Captain within a few years. He had understood why there had been some unrest.

"That's good to hear."

Itachi nodded, before asking, "Is that all you need, Hokage-sama?"

Minato nodded once, "Yes, you're free you go."

As soon as the door shut, Minato slouched back into his chair, feeling exhausted.

"Today just isn't getting any easier," Minato mumbled with the sigh. "But at least I don't have to worry about anything bad happening while I am out of the village…"

Minato was leaving in two weeks to finish trade negotiations with one of their allies.

"Well, I guess I should finish up now—" Minato's eyes widened.

A fresh stack of papers had appeared on his desk. Minato looked up as his secretary quietly made her way out of the office.

"But I was so close to being finished!" Minato yelled at her with tears in his eyes.

Kushina was going to be pissed he missed dinner. Again.

_**End.**_

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><p><strong>Hinata's second bloodline is an actual bloodline in the manga, not a new one I createdone from anime fillers. It's pretty dangerous to use around people, comrades and enemies alike if it isn't controlled properly. I wonder if anyone can guess what one it is without knowing the two affinities she has…**

**Also, Hinata won't really be able to use it until part two because no one can teach her how to control it. **

**One last thing about the whole second bloodline is that I have no idea what would happen if someone with two affinities tried to test their chakra the same way someone else would, but this made sense to me. Hinata has two elemental affinities, both equally strong, and it just made sense that normal chakra paper wouldn't work for her since she doesn't have only one affinity like most ninja. It basically confused the paper, ultimately leading to it not reacting at all.**

**The story about how Naruto gained his scars will come up again later from Naruto's point of view. I'll probably write up a little bio of the rogue ninja who had kidnapped Naruto, later. **

**If anyone is curious about what the ages are for people right now, they are as follows:**

**Naruto/Sakura/Sasuke/etc.- 10**

**Hinata/Neji/Tenten/Lee- 11 **

**Itachi- 15**

**Iruka- 20**

**Anko- 22**

**Kakashi/ Gai- 24**

**Kurenai/Asuma/Mizuki- 25**

**Shizune- 26**

**Minato/ Kushina/ Hiashi- 39**

**Tsunade/Jiraiya/Orochimaru- 49**

**Once we get to Academy graduation, all ages will be what they are in canon, except for Hinata (she'll be 13 at graduation, instead of 12), and Minato/Kushina (their actual ages aren't known, so I put them as the same age as Hiashi). **


	9. The Betrayal

_**A/N: I accidentally deleted this chapter, so I had to repost it; sorry to those of you who are following and got an alert for a new chapter (though, this chapter was originally only posted a few days ago, so it is possible that some of you have not read it yet).**___

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><p><em><em>_**How Things Change:  
><strong>__**Chapter VIII~ The Betrayal**_

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><p>Sakura stomped her foot down, and crossed her arms over her chest.<p>

"Ino-pig, move! I want to sit next to MY Sasuke-kun!" she huffed, trying to get her former-friend-turned-rival to move from her self-proclaimed seat. "He doesn't even like you! I mean who would, what with your massive thighs and pig like nose!"

Ino's eyes narrowed in anger; though, if one were to look close enough they would have been able to see the sadness deep within them. Her former friend's words hurt her far more than she'd ever let on.

"Back off, Sakura! At least I can wear my hair back without worrying about how big my forehead looks!" Ino hissed at her in retaliation. "And Sasuke-kun will never be yours, not in a million years! He's mine! M-I-N-E, mine! When are you going to understand that?!"

Truth be told, Ino didn't even like Sasuke that much. At first she thought he was the coolest boy in class, but over time, she realized he was far too quiet and arrogant for her tastes. He had a tendency of thinking himself better than most in the class because he was an Uchiha, and, on top of that, he was number one in the class, beating Naruto—The Hokage's son— by a mere point or two. However, acting like this was one of the few ways she could get Sakura—whom she still thought of as a friend—to talk to her, so she felt she had no other choice but to do it.

She had tried to explain to Sakura that she didn't even like Sasuke anymore, but Sakura had refused to believe her and declared them love rivals. Not wanting to lose her friend, Ino went along with the charade even though she knew it was wrong. She was only holding herself back now, but she felt as if she had no other choice but to do it.

"Says who?!" Sakura screeched in response to Ino. Taking a calming breath, she then added, "Just move over already, Ino. Sasuke-kun wants to sit next to me. Don't you Sasuke-kun?"

"Not rea—"

Before he could finish responding, however, Ino finished for him, "No he doesn't!"

"Yes he does!"

"NO HE DOESN'T!"

"YES HE DOES!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

Hinata sighed, while laying her head down on her desk. The two she disliked most in class were definitely Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, and for good reason.

It was going on two weeks since she started the Academy, and every day it had been mostly the same. She'd arrive, take her seat next to the silent Aburame, and listen to the incessant whining of the dreadful duo until Iruka decided to begin class.

Hinata never thought there would come a day where she felt the never-ending urge to knock sense into anybody until she met Sakura and Ino. Normally, she'd just ignore whoever was bothering her, but she found that near impossible to do when it came to those two. Their voices were just too loud and obnoxious to ignore, and they caused her the worst headaches.

During classroom spars, she really had to hold herself back from hurting them. It wouldn't have been hard, either. Their Taijutsu was barely passable, it was quite laughable, actually; they were easily the worst in the class when it came to close combat fighting, which was a shame. Hinata, much to her dismay, couldn't help but see the potential they both had, if they would just put their minds to it and train harder. Sakura, for example, probably had more upper body strength than half of the guys in class, but in order to look "cute" she would often pull her punches at the last minute (unless, of course, that person was Naruto).

Looking up, Hinata found herself staring daggers into the back of their heads, hoping it would magically stop them from bickering. Luckily enough for her, she could do so without being noticed since her bangs were more than long enough to cover up her blatant staring. Unluckily, however, the staring did no good.

'_When are they going to learn that he isn't more important than their survival?!' _Hinata yelled in her head. _'They are a disgrace to Kunoichi everywhere! How have they made this far in their ninja career when they don't even care about it?!'_

They may have had the smarts to pass the class, but they lacked the resolve to ever become successful Kunoichi. Neither of them took their training seriously as they worried too much about what _Sasuke-kun_ thought. They paid more attention to their hair and makeup than they did to their jutsu and weapons training.

And that was going to be their downfall.

Hinata had soon come to learn that it hadn't always been like that, however, and that's what truly annoyed her most about them.

After she had begun her exciting mission, she had decided that the best way to train her ever growing Byakugan and beat back the boredom that threatened her was to use it to read through the children's files that were locked safely away inside Iuka's desk. She found out a lot of interesting information doing that; like, for example, that Naruto used to have flocks of fangirls fawning over him like Sasuke because of his status as the Hokage's son, but that all quickly changed when he had begun pranking each and every one of the girls until they stopped with their nonsense altogether. Hinata, when she read that, had almost been unable to keep her laughter in. She would never admit it anyone, but she had begun to find Naruto's pranks amusing. It was never dull in class when he decided to prank someone, and it helped pass the time.

However, while she found Naruto's tactics to get girls to leave him alone funny, she couldn't help but feel disgusted at what the two girls were doing. As it turned out, Sakura and Ino used to be friends. _Best friends_. They had taken their training seriously, and had pushed each other to do their best in class every day.

That is, until Sakura found out that Ino also had a crush on Sasuke.

She had let a boy destroy their friendship, a boy who didn't want anything to do with either of them.

While Hinata could see that it was mostly Sakura to blame, she couldn't pin all of it solely on her. Ino knew what she was doing was wrong, but she didn't do anything to stop it. Instead she embraced it, hoping to stay close to her friend. But, that was her mistake. She shouldn't have done that. She was only holding herself back by doing so. She should have done the right thing long ago and let Sakura go and focused on her own studies more. Her survival was on the line, after all. Being a ninja wasn't all fun and games like she seemed to think it was. It was a dangerous and cruel job, especially for those not ready.

'_You girls won't make it in the world of shinobi,' _Hinata thought with a frown.

Hinata knew firsthand what an enemy shinobi was capable of and she could clearly see that the two girls were nowhere near ready to handle it. If they ever made Genin—which Hinata was starting to severely doubt—more than likely they would die within the first year of their shinobi career, if they ever even made it that far.

The thought of what else could happen to them, caused an involuntary shudder to run down her spine.

As much as she wanted to remain detached from the two girls, she found it harder to do so every day. She would never wish what happened to her onto anybody, and she knew that was exactly the outcome the two girls were headed for, and they would be too weak to stop it, just like she had been.

Closing her eyes, Hinata tried to push her dark thoughts aside. She couldn't continue to dwell on it. It was over and done with, and there was nothing she could do to change it. She wasn't the same weak girl she had been. She was stronger now, and she would never let anything like that happen to her again.

Just as Hinata was beginning to calm herself, Naruto, to her surprise, entered the classroom right on time. Not only that, but his eyes were lacking the mischief they usually held. Instead his eyes were full of eagerness and anxiousness, like he was waiting for something exciting to happen.

Hinata raised an eyebrow.

'_No prank today? I wonder what he's up to…? We're not supposed have any fieldtrips around the village today, so that can't be why he's excited.'_

While she was somewhat disappointed that there didn't look like there was going to be a prank, she didn't let it show. It's not like she cared what he was up to normally; she just wanted to see what kind of mayhem he would cause for the day. It made her mission a lot more interesting.

Shrugging, she pushed the thought aside. She'd find out what he was excited about later. It's not like it had anything to do with her, anyway.

Turning her attention back to the front of the classroom, she waited patiently for Iruka to start class.

_3_

_2_

_1_

"INO! SAKURA! STOP RIGHT NOW!"

'_Right on time…' _she thought, being quite glad they would have to stop arguing now.

Sakura, who was pulling Ino's hair to get her to move, dropped it and pouted, "But Iruka-sensei, Ino-pig won't move out of my seat…"

Iruka wanted to slap himself in the face.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Sakura! Not Today!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. This was a little different than what normally happened. Usually he would just tell her to stop, and find another seat. She'd moan, but ultimately follow the order with little fighting.

'_Must be in a bad mood today, hmmm?' _she wondered in amusement.

"But—"

"No buts! Now since neither of you are planning on listening to me, I'm going to have to separate you. Kiba, I want you to move to the empty seat next to Shino, and Sakura I want you to take his seat."

"That's not fair, Sensei!" Kiba yelled out in annoyance.

He liked where he was and didn't want to move. It was the closest seat to the door, and the easiest seat to sneak to if he were to arrive to class late. It only took one look from Iruka to get him to pick up his things and move to the back, however.

Hinata sighed upon learning where Kiba was going to be sitting. It was disappointing to know that someone far more talkative than Shino was going to be sitting so close to her now.

'_I hope he doesn't talk to me…' _

"I didn't like that seat, anyways…" Kiba muttered bitterly under his breath, while walking to the free seat next to Shino. "I'm stuck next to the two quietest people here, now what's going to hold my interest in class?!"

Iruka, hearing this, turned toward Kiba with a scowl, "How about what is being taught for a change, Kiba? It couldn't hurt your grades any. Or would you prefer to have your mother barge into the classroom to scold you about your test scores in front of everyone, again?"

Kiba paled at the thought of that, and slowly lowered his head while ignoring the snickers in class.

"No, sir…" Kiba muttered.

"Well, then I suggest you start paying attention, hmm? And what better place than—as you so kindly put it—next to the two quietest people in class?"

Kiba nodded, but remained quiet.

"Good, now that that's settled, how about we begin class?" Iruka said as he turned to begin his lesson.

Feeling as though she had won, Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura in victory, and said, "Have fun over there next to Naruto, Sakura!"

It was an obvious fact that Naruto had a huge crush on Sakura, much to her annoyance. While most girls would be thrilled to be having the Hokage son's attention, Sakura despised it. She only wanted Sasuke. Naruto, in her opinion, was too loud, annoying, and obnoxious. And she didn't mind telling Naruto that on a daily basis.

It was, because of that, that Naruto had a crush on her, Hinata had come to realize. Sakura was the only girl in class who had treated him like a normal kid without needing to be pranked several times for her to do so. She didn't care about who his parents were, she judged him solely on what she saw. And, that was one of the things Hinata agreed with her about.

Naruto was loud, and he was annoying, and he was obnoxious.

But, unlike Sakura, Hinata found amusement in those traits. He was different than most people in her eyes. It helped her pass time in class to watch him, and made her mission a lot easier. So, even though she would never admit it to anyone—not even to Kakashi—she liked that Naruto was in her class.

"I'll keep Sasuke warm!" Ino continued to taunt, while intertwining her arm with Sasuke's.

Iruka ignored Ino's taunt, and calmly turned back toward the class, "Ino, I would like for you to switch places with Akio."

Naruto smiled brightly upon hearing this. Sasuke was his best friend and rival, but he rarely got the chance to sit next to him because of the fights it would cause between him and Sakura and Ino.

Realizing he wouldn't get another chance like this, Naruto excitedly raised his hand, and asked, "Can I move next to Sasuke, instead, Iruka-sensei? Akio can take my seat!"

While he did really like Sakura and would love to sit next to her, he was smart enough to realize that probably wasn't a good idea for him to do. Not now, anyways. She would only take her anger out on him right now, and he would prefer not to be brain dead.

Iruka nodded, coming to the same realization as Naruto, "Yes that would probably be for the best."

"Awesome! Sorry, Sakura-chan, I'll make it up to you later!"

Before Sakura could respond, however, Naruto was already halfway to the soon-to-be-vacant seat next to Sasuke.

As Naruto was moving over to take her seat, Ino exclaimed, "What?! But I was here first! That's not fair, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka turned to the blonde and glared, "I know. I had every intention of letting you keep your seat as you were there first, but you had to open your mouth and ruin it. Now move!"

Ino bit her lip in anger and grabbed her things and stormed off to her new seat next to Chōji, while cursing at herself in her head.

If only she had stayed quiet….

Chōji smiled tentatively at her as she sat, and held out a bag to her and brightly asked, "Would you like one of my chips, Ino-chan? They're barbequed flavored."

Chōji wasn't one to share his chips with just anyone, so it really showed everyone just how much he cared about her. However, Ino just waved it off like it was nothing.

"Is food really all you care about, Chōji?" Ino groaned, "I'm on a diet, do you really think I want a chip?!"

Chōji slowly lowered the bag, and looked down with a sigh. She would never change. Chōji missed the old Ino; the Ino who laughed with him and Shikamaru, and always accepted his chips when he offered.

Instead he was stuck with this.

He couldn't even recognize her anymore.

'_Why did you have to change, Ino?'_ he asked himself sadly. _'Is Sakura really that important to you? So important that you decided to just abandon Shikamaru and I?'_

Shikamaru, seeing the state of his friend was in, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I know, Chōji, but don't take it too hard. She's just upset, she'll get over it, she always does…"

Chōji nodded his head, and looked back up to Iruka to listen to him begin his lesson.

Iruka sighed, "Now those seats for you two are permanent, got it? I don't want to hear anymore fighting about where you are to sit. If anything like this happens again, I will contact both of your parents immediately, am I clear?"

Ino and Sakura lowered their heads at his stern gaze and threat, "Yes, Iruka-sensei."

"Good. Now that that has been settled, who's ready for a pop quiz?" he asked with a smile, earning groans from the entire class.

Everyone in the class scowled as they turned their attention to the girls who had caused it, but they remained silent knowing it would only be worse for them if they said anything.

"Everyone? Good. Then I'll begin passing the papers out."

After a few minutes had passed, Hinata was the last to get her paper. At first glance, she couldn't help but to sigh at what she saw.

Chakra Theory.

Again.

She understood that not everyone in the class had trained as much as she had, but it still annoyed her that she was forced to review the same things day in and day out. She knew everything and then some of what Iruka was talking about thanks to Tsunade, and it was getting boring to hear it over and over again; especially since she had to pretend not to understand it. She couldn't count the number of times she had accidentally started filling out her tests and quizzes correctly, before realizing she was supposed to aim for barely passing marks and had to start over. She hoped Shino hadn't realized it, and because he sometimes offered her help with the class work, she assumed he had not.

Iruka, taking her dejected look as a sign that she didn't understand the material, patted her on the back.

"You'll do fine, Hinata, I believe in you. You just have to have some faith in yourself, alright?"

Hinata's eyes widened at his kind words. While he hadn't really treated her rudely, this was the first time he had actually gone out of his way to comfort her.

She was quite unprepared for it.

"Um, t-thank you I-Iruka-sensei, I'll do my best…" Hinata sputtered in embarrassment, not used to hearing any words of encouragement from the Chūnin.

Iruka smiled brightly at her, and continued on his way back to his desk.

Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly at his retreating form as she tried to figure out if he was being sincere or not.

'_Is he planning something?'_ after thinking about that for a moment, she shook her head. _'No…I don't think that's it; I didn't see any deception in his eyes…'_

What was it then?

Why was he all of a sudden speaking to her like he wanted to help her?

Hinata read through his files, and had come to learn that Iruka's parents had been killed during the Kyūbi attack, so why would he want to be kind to her?

Interrupting her thoughts, Iruka said, "Alright, class, you have thirty minutes to finish. Begin!"

Deciding wondering about it wasn't going to get her anywhere, she pushed the thoughts aside and begun to read her own quiz. A sigh left her mouth as she read the first question:

_Chakra is the resulting form of what two energies?_

Picking up her pencil, she very slowly started filling out the quiz, making sure to leave just enough of her quiz correct to get passing marks.

Before Hinata got halfway through her paper, however, a knock sounded on the door. Hinata looked up, wondering who it could be. When the door opened, however, she wished she would have just ignored the sound and continued on with her work.

"Kushina-sama, what can I do for you?" Iruka asked; he too was surprised by her visit.

Kushina, ignoring the honorific she so despised, looked into the class and met Hinata's eyes for a brief moment. A smiled lit up her face, but slowly fell when Hinata made an obvious attempt to look away from her.

If Hinata would have kept her gaze, she would have seen the hurt look in her eyes.

Sighing, Kushina turned to Iruka and said, "Ah, nothing much, I just need to pick up Naruto and Sasuke. I really hate to interrupt, but it's pretty important that they come with me now."

"Not a problem!" Iruka said, before turning to look at Naruto and Sasuke. "If you two are not finished with your quizzes, you can complete them when you get back to class tomorrow."

Naruto sighed in defeat. He was hoping to get out of it.

"Actually, they will be gone for a few days," Kushina whispered to Iruka. "They're going on an important trip with Minato and I."

Iruka eyes lit up in realization, "Oh, yeah. Hokage-sama sent me the message last night about it. I had forgotten."

Kushina smiled, "So he did remember! Well, we really need to get going. Sasuke-kun, Naru-chan, follow me!"

The class erupted in laughter at his nickname, much to Naruto's dismay. Trying to fight back the blush that was crawling up his neck, Naruto yelled, "What did I say about calling me that in front of my friends, Mom—ttebayo!"

Kushina smiled.

Taking much enjoyment in her son's embarrassment, she patted him on the head with her right hand and used her left to wipe an invisible smudge from his cheek, "There, there, it's alright. I am your mother, after all. I can call you whatever I want. You don't need to feel embarrassed about it, my little Naru-chan!"

Again the class erupted in laughter, much to his annoyance.

Hanging his head in defeat, Naruto pulled away from his mom and stormed off toward the door, muttering under his breath, with Sasuke following closely behind him.

"Yeah, you better hurry up, _Naru-chan_," Sasuke sniggered into his ear, enjoying every ounce of Naruto's embarrassment.

"Better stop before I tell everyone in class what your mom calls you when no one's around, Sasuke!" Naruto threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," he glared at the blonde.

"Sure I world, Sw—Mmmph!"

Before Naruto had time to react, Sasuke forced his fish into his mouth to keep him from speaking, and quickly pushed him outside the room and slammed the door shut. Their scuffling in the hallway could be easily heard through the door.

"Sorry, again, Iruka," turning she slowly made her way towards the door, a cloud of anger rolled off of her in wave. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have some business to attend to. Have a good day."

Iruka visible paled and said, "You too…"

As the door slammed shut behind Kushina, her shrill voice soon filled the classroom, "_I would suggest you two stop the fighting right this second if you know what's good for you—dattebane!"_

Shivers fell down the spines of everyone in the classroom at the sound of her cracking knuckles.

"What a drag…who would have thought Naruto's mom could be so scary?" Shikamaru wondered aloud, having finally been awoken from his nap. "I think she's worse than my mom."

Almost everyone in the class nodded in agreement to his statement.

Before anything more could be said, Iruka pushed back the momentary fear he had felt from Kushina, and asked, "Hey, what are all of you doing? Don't you have tests to finish?"

Groans filled the room, as pencils began to be picked up again.

"And be quiet about it!"

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>"So," Kakashi began, "Are you sure it's okay to be leaving the village? And I thought you weren't leaving until late tonight, what happened?"<p>

Minato sighed, "No, I'm not sure. But it can't be helped; this meeting is far too important to be put off any longer. I have already put it off twice now…if I do it a third time, I'm afraid they'll take it as an insult and refuse any further negotiations with me. We can't risk losing this ally, especially since we still haven't fully recovered from the Kyūbi's attack. And, as to why I'm leaving now instead of later, I just really want to get this over and done with so I can make a speedy return."

Kakashi nodded in understanding.

Clearing his throat, Minato interrupted the silence that followed, "Anyways, Kakashi, the reason why I've called you here is because I wanted to ask you about Hinata before I left. I haven't really had a chance to talk to you about it, and I was hoping you could tell me if you've figured out anything useful about her unknown Kekkei Genkai?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Unfortunately I have not made much progress. So far, all I've managed to figure out is that there is a very strong possibility that her affinities lean toward fire and water as she had the easiest time with those type of jutsu, but other than that I know nothing. I've never heard of that combination in a bloodline limit so I am unsure of what will happen if she combines them, especially since she doesn't have a complete grasp on either element so far."

"I see…well, just keep teaching her how to control both elements. It's all you really can do. When you feel she is ready, we'll take the necessary precautions to test out what will happen if she combines them."

"Okay, can do," Kakashi said. "Also, who's going to be in charge while you're gone?"

Normally it would have been the elders, but because of what had happened to Hinata, he severely doubted it would be them. He had a pretty good idea who it would be, however.

Minato answered automatically without thinking anything of it, "Tsunade, or course. Though, I'm sure you already knew that. If she needs any help, she can rely on either you or Shikaku. I don't think she will have to, though."

Again Kakashi nodded. He had, like Minato had said, assumed she'd be the one left in charge of the village. She was, after all, probably the strongest and most experienced ninja in the village after Minato and Kushina.

"But…will she be able to put her sake bottle and poker chips down long enough to take care of the village?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Minato responded with a laugh, following along with his joke, "Well, Shizune will be here watching to make sure of it—"

"HEY, I HEARD THAT!" a shrill scream filled the room, as the door crashed opened revealing an extremely pissed off Tsunade.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he turned around to look at her.

"Sorry. We, uh, didn't know you were there? Hee, hee…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her anger evaporated at his poor excuse.

"Liar. You probably felt my presence long before I even set foot in the building," Tsunade coolly replied.

Kakashi shrugged, confirming that he was indeed lying.

Minato smiled, almost unable to hold his own laughter in, "And, to answer your question seriously, Kakashi, I think she'll do a splendid job. She was a student of the Third, after all."

Upon the mention of Hiruzen, the room went silent for the Hokage who had died in action a decade ago. His death was still a sore point for them.

Before it could drag on too long, however, Tsunade loudly cleared her throat to break the silence.

"So, when were you going to tell me I was to be left in charge?" she then demanded. "And what if I refuse?"

"Uh, now?" Minato said with eyes closed, scratching the back of his head, "And if you were to refuse, I guess I'd just have to find someone else. But you don't mind doing it, do you?"

Tsunade sighed in defeat at his pleading tone and said, "I guess I can do it, but only just this once got it?"

"Great! I guess I should be on my way now, thanks for doing this Tsunade!"

Before Tsunade could respond, however, she noticed something she hadn't before. Narrowing her eyes, she started to approach the Fourth.

"I wouldn't have really been able to decline even if I had wanted to, would I have?"

Minato shrank back, "Sure you would have, I would never make you do something you really didn't want to—"

"Then tell me, Minato, why are you just a shadow clone?"

Kakashi's eyes widened. He hadn't even realized it. This just proved to him that, at the moment, Tsunade was indeed on another level than he was.

"Well, there is a good reason for that—"

"The original has already left, hasn't he?" she asked in a voice much sweeter than she felt.

Realizing there was no way out of it, the clone said, "Y-yes. The original left about fifteen minutes ago with Kushina and Naruto—"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed even more, "That's what I thought. You did that to leave me no choice but to take over until your return, didn't you?"

"Well, um, now that you're here, I think I'll just dispel myself—"

"No need, I'll do it for you," Tsunade said in reply.

The clone slowly began to back away from her, realizing just where the situation was headed, "Ah, no, that's fine…I can do it myse—"

"No, no. I _insist_," she stated as she slowly cracked her knuckles. "Just do me a favor, and make sure this gets back to your creator. There. Will. Be. Hell. To. PAY!"

_SMACK!_

The clone didn't stand a chance.

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>"Minato? Are you alright?" Kushina's softly asked as she turned to her currently frozen husband.<p>

Before he could answer, an involuntary shudder ran down his back, much to Kushina's amusement.

"Ah, I understand now. She figured it out, didn't she?" she asked with a hint of laughter in her voice. "Bet she forcefully dispersed your clone, right?"

Minato could only nod in confirmation.

"I told you not to do it, but you never listen to me…" Kushina sighed. "Can never just take what your wife says seriously, can you?"

Kushina was truly enjoying her husband's suffering.

Naruto, now interested, turned to his mother and asked, "What's going on?"

Kushina rubbed her hand through Naruto's messy hair, and smiled, "Nothing, really. Your father just figured out why one doesn't mess with your Obaachan."

Naruto snickered, "Well, even I know not to do that—dattebayo!"

"You need to help me, Kushina!" Minato exclaimed in horror once he was able to move. Turning to Naruto, he then said, "You too, Naruto. Tsunade likes you the most, so—"

Kushina could no longer hold in her laughter. Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head no.

"I think you're on your own for this one. Maybe next time you'll listen to me, hmm?" Kushina said as she pulled Naruto along.

Minato's mouth dropped opened in surprise at their retreating backs.

He had been abandoned.

By his family.

His family had just abandoned him.

"HEY, THAT'S NOT FAIR! SOME WIFE AND SON YOU ARE!"

All he got in response was a throaty cackle from Kushina.

Sasuke, who had remained back with his mother during the ordeal, turned and murmured, "How come I've never realized that Naruto's father is such a scaredy cat?"

Mikoto laughed, while patting her son on the head, "You're one to talk, Sasuke, or have you already forgotten what happened last time you made Tsunade-sama angry?"

Sasuke shuddered, as he remembered the incident that involved a desk, a broken wrist and five stitches, "Never mind…"

Mikoto patted Sasuke's head, "That's what I thought. Now let's hurry, we're falling behind."

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>Kakashi slowly backed away from Tsunade, as she straightened herself out. She really was scary when angered.<p>

"Um, well, I guess I'll be going now…"

When Tsunade turned to start yelling at him, she was surprised to see that he was gone; all that was left of Minato's student was a pile of dead leaves.

He had body flickered away.

"Just you wait, Kakashi! I'll get you too!" she yelled out to thin air, too angry to care about whom in the tower heard her.

She hadn't yet realized that Kakashi had had nothing to do with Minato's little trick, and she swore to get revenge on him and Minato.

But first…

"Shizune, get me the most expensive bottle of Sake in the village—no make that ten bottles—and make sure to put it on Minato's tab!"

Shizune, who had just entered the room, sighed. There was no point in talking her out of this, especially when she was so angry. It would just bite her in the ass if she refused to do as she was told.

Turning around, she left as quickly as she arrived, "Yes, M'lady…"

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>Sighing in frustration, Hinata followed everyone else to the front of the classroom.<p>

While Hinata had grown accustomed to the academy, she still really did not like to work with the other kids. That's why, when she had no choice in the matter, she preferred having Shino as her partner. He was quiet, smart, and didn't ask questions.

He was the perfect partner for her.

Hinata, once the bell rang, was looking forward to Taijutsu practice, as it signaled that class was almost over.

However, that all changed when Iruka made the announcement that he was going to assign partners today.

'_Please let my partner be Shino!'_ Hinata pleaded in her head.

Much to Hinata's dismay, that wasn't to be the case for her today.

"Alright, next we have…Kiba. Your partner is going to be…"Looking around the group of kids, his eyes landed directly on Hinata, "Hinata! Hinata will be your partner, Kiba."

And just like that her hope fell.

Hinata sighed and slowly made her way to the front.

'_At least I don't have to deal with Sakura…' _she thought, trying to make the most out of a bad situation.

Unfortunately for her, she thought that too soon. It turned out that the spars were going to be two on two, instead of the normal one on one ones she was used to.

"Kiba and Hinata, you two will face against Sakura and Chōji."

Had she not had the self-control she did, she would have let out a groan while smacking herself in the head.

Today was just not turning out to be her day.

"Remember you guys; this is supposed to be for practice only. No trying to seriously hurt each other. Also, no jutsu of any kind can be used, understand? We're practicing standard Taijutsu only. So that means no Akimichi or Inuzuka techniques, are we clear?" Iruka asked while looking toward Chōji and Kiba.

Everyone nodded in response.

"Good, then let's begin!"

Hinata slowly backed away in a defensive stance, being careful to leave a few openings so it didn't look too perfect. She had a mask to keep up, after all.

Hinata continued to stay behind Kiba as she was hoping to let him handle most of what their opponents could throw at them. It was much easier not to fight than to keep her talents hidden, especially since Taijutsu was her best skill. If she had wanted to, she could have knocked their two opponents down without them knowing what had hit them; however, she knew that was not something she could afford to do. So, that is why, when it came to sparring, she tried to do as little as possible to keep her cover from being blown.

And so far it had worked.

After a moment or so, after realizing no one wanted to make the first move, Sakura decided to take the fight into her own hands.

Hinata could only roll her eyes when Sakura flew toward Kiba, yelling, "I'll make you pay for what you said about Sasuke-kun yesterday, dog breath!"

Hinata was beginning to wonder if Sakura could do anything without Sasuke being involved in one way or another.

'_He's not even here right now!'_ Hinata screamed in her head while trying to fight the urge to knock some sense into Sakura.

Kiba, on the other hand, just smirked and slapped Sakura's punch away as if it were nothing.

"I'd like to see you try!"

This only infuriated Sakura more, and she viciously started to attack Kiba. It was actually quite impressive what she could do when she actually tried, Hinata couldn't help but to admit. Her moves were sloppy, but powerful. They reminded her of Tsunade's, just not as disciplined.

However, her reason for fighting was truly pathetic.

Before Hinata could think much more about it, her eyes widened as she realized that she had almost forgotten about Chōji. Cursing herself for her incompetence, Hinata ran forward, to stop Chōji before he could attack Kiba from behind.

Using her agility, Hinata easily made it between Kiba and the oncoming Akimichi with time to spare. Without thinking, Hinata continued her assault by rushing forward, delivering a quick knee to his stomach. The kick was hard enough to keep Chōji from getting back up right away, but not enough to keep him down for very long.

Realizing what she had done, Hinata's eyes widened.

'_No!'_

It was too late, however. What was done was done and she couldn't change what had happened.

Doing the only thing she could do, Hinata put a look of shock on her face and tried to pretend it was a lucky shot. In doing so, she allowed a slow moving Chōji to hit her from behind.

Hinata, however, would have reconsidered that choice if she had known that Chōji was going to use his full strength. The hit, which landed at the base of her head, was heavy enough to send her crumbling to the ground, unconscious.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actual probably just a few moments later, Hinata slowly opened her eyes to see Iruka standing over her, genuine worry etched into his face.

"That was a pretty nasty hit you took from Chōji," Iruka said.

The Akimichi were known for being heavy hitters, and Chōji hadn't tried to pull his punch like he should have. He had attacked her like she was an actual enemy.

Hinata slowly sat up, while rubbing the nasty bruise on the back of her head. Unfortunately for her, when Kushina messed with her seal, she lessoned the fox's ability to heal her; she was going to have a headache for quite a while.

"Don't you have something you would like to say, Chōji?" Iruka asked him, sternly.

Chōji bowed down before her, tears visible in his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Hinata-san! I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I thought you would have dodged it, seeing as you were moving so fast earlier…"

Hinata shook her head, not used to the attention of people in class actually caring for her, and said, "It's o-okay, I'm f-fine, really…"

Chōji nodded happily, he didn't like when people were angry with him. Hearing her say that made him feel much better. Rubbing the tears from his eyes he slowly got to his feet.

Before anything more could be said, however, the bell signaling the end of the class day rang, sending most of the children—including Chōji—to run to grab their forgotten belongings from the classroom.

"Hey, calm down you guys!" Iruka shouted, while following behind them to try and keep order.

Hinata shook her head and slowly got to her feet while brushing herself off. After she was as clean as she was going to get, she turned to the direction of the classroom. She too needed to grab her things from the room.

Before she could move more than a few feet, however, Shikamaru walked out from behind a tree.

"Yo," he said with a lazy wave of his hand.

Hinata lowered her head and stammered, "H-hello."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, "You can stop with the act now, Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened upon hearing this. Snapping her head up, she looked into his calculating eyes.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her eyes never leaving his. While she remained calm on the outside, she was starting to panic in her mind. _'Shit! It's only been two weeks, did I fail already?!'_

Shikamaru—as if he knew what she was thinking—put his hands up, and said, "Don't worry, I won't say a thing. It would be much too troublesome to try and tell anyone about this, so your secret is safe."

"How can I be sure you are telling me the truth?" she asked; he didn't seem to be the type to lie, but one could never be completely sure.

"You can't. You can only take my word for it," Shikamaru replied before turning away from her and heading in the opposite direction. Before he made it anywhere, however, he threw a look over his shoulder and added, "I would suggest that you be more careful in the future, however. If you aren't, I won't be the only one who suspects."

Hinata could only stare dumfounded at his retreating form.

Once he was out of sight, Hinata turned and continued on to the classroom. Her head was still spinning from the hit she took from Chōji.

'_If that's what it felt like taking a hit from an Akimichi who hasn't even reached Genin, I don't even want to know what it would feel like coming from him in a few years,' _Hinata thought with a shudder; she was trying to keep her mind off of the fact that Shikamaru knew more than she would have liked.

Turning around after retrieving her things, she was surprised to see Iruka still standing there, smiling at her. She expected him to be gone already.

Hinata bit her lip with worry. Was he going to question her too about what happened? She hoped not.

Tilting her head to the side in confusion and pushing her fear down, she shyly asked, "Is t-there something you w-want from me, Iruka-sensei?"

After having what looked to be an internal battle with himself, he finally replied, "Would you like to get something to eat with me, Hinata? My treat."

That wasn't anything close to what she expected to hear. Before she could stop herself, she nodded her head yes.

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

.

* * *

><p>A few hours passed by with no sign of Hinata, and Kakashi couldn't help but a feel a little worried. While he knew she could handle herself in most cases, he couldn't help but wonder if she was okay. It was not like her to return home late.<p>

Deciding it would be best if he tried to relax, he plopped himself down in his chair and pulled out his favorite book to make the time fly faster.

However, this was unnecessary as only a minute later Hinata walked through the door, announcing she was home.

Kakashi looked up from his book and asked, "Did class run late today?"

Hinata shook her head, "No…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Were you training?"

Hinata shook her head again, but didn't say anything.

After taking her shoes off, and hanging her coat up, she turned to Kakashi and said, "Iruka asked me to go to dinner with him."

He knew Iruka, and it wasn't really all that surprising he would do so. He always had tendency to go out of his way to help the kids who were struggling the most in class, as it reminded him of himself when he was young. And he really didn't believe it was he who was betraying Konoha (he already had a good suspicion of who it was but there was no proof, not yet anyway). No, what surprised Kakashi was the fact that Hinata had agreed to go.

"Oh?"

"I didn't mean to say yes, but it kind of slipped out when he asked. I wasn't prepared for it," Hinata hurriedly explained as she could see the disbelief on his face.

"How'd it go? What happened?" Kakashi asked in interest.

"Nothing much. He took me to a place called Ichiraku for ramen—it was really good by the way—and now that I mention it, I didn't get so much as a dirty glare from the two people running the booth. Anyway, he mostly just talked to me about my grades, and things I could do to improve. I'm surprised he even wants to help me, to be honest. Didn't his family die during the attack?"

Kakashi's eyes turned soft, "It means he's smart, Hinata. It means he doesn't see you as the fox, but rather as it's jailer like how it should be."

Hinata nodded her head, and turned to go to her room.

"I'm going to go clean up now," she said as she walked down the hall. Looking over her shoulder, she added, "I'm supposed to stay after class tomorrow for tutoring with him and Mizuki, just so you know. Not only will it help my cover some more, but it will also allow me to spend more time around them. Maybe I'll get a lead?"

Kakashi nodded his head.

Hinata then opened the door to her room and stepped inside. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, her shoulder's drooped, and an aura of depression surrounded her.

She really hoped Kakashi was right. She was actually starting to like Iruka, which was strange considering the fact that she had only met him a couple weeks ago. It was just that he reminded her of Kakashi; he was kind, patient, and seemed genuinely concerned for her wellbeing.

She really hoped he wasn't the traitor she was looking for.

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><p>Tsunade, surrounded by full bottles of sake, cursed. She couldn't bring herself to drink more than two bottles. She wasn't stupid, and realized that being indisposed was not a good idea when she had work to do. The village wasn't going to run itself, after all.<p>

Cursing Minato, she grabbed her ceramic sake cup and brought it up above her head to throw it at the wall. However, before she let it go, it suddenly shattered in her hand.

Looking down at the cold remains of her saucer, a terrible feeling filled her gut.

Something bad was going to happen. She could feel it.

Calling out, she said, "Shizune, come here. I want to make a bet with you…"

This would determine if what she was feeling was nothing or something really bad.

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><p>The smell woke him before any sounds of screaming reached his ears.<p>

Fire.

The complex was on fire.

Throwing himself from his bed, he could now see the smoke that filled his room, and hear the screams of his father trying to wake him.

"ITACHI, IT HAS STARTED! GET DRESSED, THE HOUSE IS ABLAZE! WE HAVE NO TIME TO LOSE!"

'_Shit!'_ Itachi thought frantically as he grabbed any and all gear he could get his hands on in the next few seconds. _'This isn't supposed to be happening! Not now!'_

Itachi had made a terrible mistake, he realized. He had gotten the information wrong. And now, countless people would suffer. And, even worse, Minato was nowhere near the village, and he had no time to try and summon him.

He reassured the Fourth that everything would be fine in his absence, that the clan wasn't ready to do anything, and wouldn't be ready for months.

Something went wrong, but what? Every single piece of Intel he had gathered since it had started had been spot on. How could he be wrong now? He was getting it from the same person he always did, a person he trusted with his life!

Unless…they somehow managed to figure out that Shisui was not as trustworthy as he seemed?

But, how? Shisui and he had been very careful to make it so no one would ever find out.

Shaking the thought from his head, he quickly finished making his way out of the heavily smoking building.

His father turned to him, and told him, "We don't have much time. Haruo and Shiro are trying to evacuate the children and elderly, but it may already be too late. We're going to have to fight, are you ready for—"

Before he could continue, Fugaku's second in command—Haruo—stumbled out of the ash that filled the sky. He was soaked in blood; his left eye hung from its socket, the blood oozed out in thick droplets.

Fugaku sprang forward and caught his dying friend before he fell to the ground.

"What happened?" he asked, gently.

His friend was going to die, that much was certain, and there was nothing he could do to save him. The only thing he could do for his comrade was avenge his death by stopping whoever it was who did it to him.

"T…there's a barrier a…around the w…whole compound. We couldn't escape. D…dead. T…they're all dead. E…even my son, S…Shiro. That m…man slaughtered them all. I o…only barely e…escaped."

"Who? Who killed them all?" he urged, frantically.

"S…shi—"

However, before he could finish, a kunai lodged itself deep into his throat, killing him instantly.

Fugaku dropped his comrade, and readied himself into a fighting stance. The smoke covered the area to the point that not even the Sharingan could see. They were sitting ducks for whoever was out there, unless he came out of the smoke.

"Who's there? Show yourself right now!" Itachi yelled out into the smoke.

A voice called out through ash, "Are you sure, this is what you want, Itachi-kun?"

'_No, it can't be!' _

That voice sent chills down Itachi's back.

He knew that voice.

"I guess if you insist, I have no choice but to comply. Either way, it will make no difference. Soon you too will die by these hands, my friend."

Itachi felt his heart fall to his stomach as the one he would consider a brother stepped forward, drenched in their family's blood. His Sharingan eyes held not even an ounce of humanity, as he dropped the decapitated head of Haruo's son.

No.

It couldn't be.

But it was.

How?

Why?

Itachi's lungs closed, he couldn't breathe, and he couldn't speak…

But Fugaku could, if only just barely.

"S-Shisui?!"

_**End.**_

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><p><strong>Sorry it took so long to get this out! <strong>

**Anyways, if anyone missed it, it's pretty much been confirmed what Hinata's second bloodline is. If you missed it, she has fire and water as her affinities, so that makes her bloodline the Boil Release, which is the same bloodline as Mei Terumī, the Fifth Mizukage (I believe Ookami88 was the only one to guess it right, so good job). **

**I guess that's all I have to say; besides I'll try to get the next chapter up faster than this one. **

**Until next time…**


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